Pep Guardiola believes La Liga president Javier Tebas is correct to say that most Premier League clubs want to see Manchester City punished for allegedly breaching financial regulations.
An independent commission’s hearing into more than 100 charges against the Premier League champions will begin on Monday.
If found to be in breach, the most severe punishments possible involve points deductions and potential relegation. City strenuously deny all wrongdoing.
Tebas has been a longstanding critic of City’s ownership and, on Friday, was quoted by Spanish newspaper Mundo Deportivo as saying that “many Premier League clubs… understand that City should be sanctioned”.
Guardiola agreed that many of City’s top-flight rivals hope to see them punished but said that all parties involved must show patience and wait for the commission’s verdict.
“Maybe (Tebas) is right. For the fact that all the Premier League teams want us to be sanctioned, that is for sure. I agree with Tebas for the first time, and hopefully the last. I am pretty sure I agree with that,” Guardiola said.
“That’s why I say to Mr Tebas and the Premier League teams, wait for the independent panel. Justice is there in a modern democracy so yeah, wait for the decision, it’s not more complicated than that.
“But I don’t know if he is a lawyer or the rest of the Premier League teams are lawyers so what I ask for is that – wait, it happened with UEFA. We believe that we have not done anything wrong so we go to an independent panel and we are going to wait. Good.”
Guardiola said he is glad that the independent commission’s hearing is due to begin more than 18 months after the Premier League charged City, but claimed not to speak about it with people at the club or his players.
“It starts soon and hopefully finishes soon. An independent panel will decide. I’m looking forward to the decision,” he said.
“We are not lawyers. Erling (Haaland) is not a lawyer so we didn’t talk about it. What is going to happen is with the independent panel and we will accept the sentence.
“I don’t talk about them, I don’t talk about it. I’m happy it starts on Monday and I know there will be more rumours about the sentences that come up and we’re going to see.
“I know what people are looking for, I know what they are expecting – I know it because I have read it for many years – but I’ve said everyone is innocent until guilt is proven. So we will see.”
(Richard Pelham/Getty Images)
