and are expected to appeal<\/a>.<\/p>\nNoel Gallagher, a City fan, has described his \u201cshock\u201d at the news, while the club\u2019s former chairman David Bernstein believes \u201cmoney is not sufficient\u201d in terms of a potential punishment. The culture secretary, Lisa Nandy, described the case as \u201cunsettling\u201d for football fans and is hopeful of a swift resolution.<\/p>\n
On Saturday morning, Maresca was approached for comment about whether he is seeking reassurance from the club on their continued stance of innocence. The Guardian was sent by his representatives a screenshot of a quote by Socrates, the Greek philosopher, which Maresca posted on Instagram.<\/p>\n
The quote reads: \u201cThe only thing I know is that I know nothing.\u201d Maresca also wrote: \u201cTime to breathe. Time to analyse. Time to learn.\u201d<\/p>\n
Speaking on the Let Me Talk podcast, the Oasis star Gallagher said: \u201cA little surprised when I heard it on the radio. Surprised because only that the club have assured us all along that they vehemently denied any of these charges.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo it was a bit of a shock to find out that we\u2019ve been found guilty of all but one. But really overall just quite sad really. Sad for the fans and for the players.\u201d<\/p>\n
Noel Gallagher, a longtime Manchester City fan, is \u2018sad for the fans and for the players\u2019. Photograph: Shaun Brooks\/CameraSport\/Getty Images<\/p>\n
Asked if it changes the context of moments like Sergio Ag\u00fcero\u2019s title-winning goal in 2012, Gallagher added: \u201cOur focus as fans is always on the pitch and we know what we saw \u2013 they won it on the pitch.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhatever goes on in the boardroom, it\u2019s nothing to do with the supporters or the players. The players won that game and won that title on the pitch. Whether some of those players should have been there or not, that\u2019s nothing to do with the fans. We were there, we know what we saw.<\/p>\n
\u201cDoes it taint it? I suppose in the eyes of everybody else in England it would, but I know what I saw and I know what I felt.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bernstein, City\u2019s chairman from 1998-2003, told Times Radio: \u201cI felt absolutely awful, I felt in shock yesterday, actually. I think you\u2019ve asked me on the programme because of my time as chair of City and the FA, but basically I\u2019m a fan of Manchester City and have been a fan for 70 years.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s really awful that this great period of success, which followed many years of being less successful, when I was chair I think I helped get the club out of a very difficult period and started the road to better things.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut to see all this tarnished in this way is very sad, I feel particularly bad for the wonderful supporters of the club who\u2019ve stayed with the club through thick and thin. It\u2019s a pretty bad day I think for the fans in blue of Manchester.\u201d<\/p>\n
Asked what the correct punishment would be, Bernstein said: \u201cFirst of all, the timing of this I think is crucial. This whole process has taken too long already. So the appeal process now has to be done quickly because you\u2019ve got the club playing with this cloud over its head and it\u2019s just not viable.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe appeal process cannot go on for year after year, that would be a disaster. Not just for this particular case but for English football generally. The timing is crucial. I can\u2019t give a view on the punishment. If they are found, after the appeal, guilty of 115 charges, my beloved club is going to face a very severe penalty.<\/p>\n
\u201cAll I would say is that money is not sufficient, it would have to be something, unfortunately, more drastic than that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nandy, speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live, said: \u201cMost football fans will be feeling this is not a good moment for football as a whole and I think Manchester City fans will be feeling very anxious about what happens next. You\u2019ll know this is a really longstanding investigation, it dates all the way back to allegations that begin in 2009. There is still a way to go with the investigation, Manchester City is contesting the charges.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe football fans need to know the rules are applied fairly and consistently, they need to know they\u2019re upheld and they need to know the right decision has been reached.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe do have a way to go with this, it\u2019s very unsettling for football fans and I hope that it can be resolved as swiftly as possible.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nigel Huddleston, who was shadow secretary of state for culture from 2025 to 2026, stated on X: \u201cWhatever the next steps are, they must be conducted in an accelerated and more transparent manner or risk further damage to the reputation and integrity of English football and more unnecessary anxiety for millions of football fans.\u201d<\/p>\n
A City spokesperson said on Friday: \u201cThe Premier League<\/a> process remains ongoing, with significant elements to be completed, and subject to strict confidentiality. As such Manchester City FC\u2019s position remains consistent with the club\u2019s statement of February 2023.<\/p>\n\u201cThe club has diligently respected due process for eight years on the basis that the Premier League board and executive would behave as an independent, impartial and fair-minded regulator, free from partisan influence.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Manchester City\u2019s manager Enzo Maresca posted a cryptic message on social media reading \u201cI know nothing\u201d after the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":906191,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[563],"tags":[64,63,596,85],"class_list":["post-906190","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-football","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-football","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/906190","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=906190"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/906190\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/906191"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=906190"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=906190"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=906190"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}