"The scale, deception, attitude!" - Jonathan Wilson slams Man City | Football Weekly
Jonathan Wilson reacts to the latest twists and turns in the Manchester City scandal, alongside Barry Glendenning, Robyn Cowen and Max Rushden on this Monday's episode of Football Weekly. Watch the full podcast episode ► https://youtu.be/Efp7WCvqXbs Subscribe to Guardian Football ► https://www.youtube.com/@guardianfootball?subconfirmation=1 We want your feedback! If you had any thoughts on our coverage of the World Cup, please let us know here ► www.theguardian.com/YTWorldCupSurvey The Guardian publishes independent journalism, made possible by supporters. Contribute to The Guardian today ► https://support.theguardian.com/ Guardian Football Weekly: https://www.tiktok.com/@guardianfootballweekly https://www.instagram.com/guardianfootballweekly/ Website ► https://www.theguardian.com Facebook ► https://www.facebook.com/theguardian Bluesky ► https://bsky.app/profile/sport.theguardian.com Instagram ► https://www.instagram.com/guardiansport/ The Guardian on YouTube: The Guardian ► https://www.youtube.com/@theGuardian Football Weekly podcast ► https://www.youtube.com/@FootballWeeklyPodcast Guardian News ► https://www.youtube.com/@guardiannews Guardian Australia ► https://www.youtube.com/@GuardianAustralia Guardian Sport ► https://www.youtube.com/@guardiansport
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chances he put in there appeal before the deadline questions are being asked about the nature of their defense from Matt Hughes in the paper on Friday. A key element of City's appeal, which was confirmed by the club on Friday, is understood to be based on their claim that commercial contracts, which the commission concluded were part of funded by their owner, were in fact paid for by the Abu Dhabi government. In a 2015 submission to the United States Department of Commerce, Transportation and State as part of the investigation to state-owned airlines, AC had described suggestions that the government paid for its sponsorship of the club as false. So, he can't have it both ways. Meanwhile, the UAE has reportedly warned the government it could cancel big investments in the UK. Emirati officials said the Premier League's actions would have, quote, an influence on the bilateral state relationship. Um Uh and talking about like the money in those reports is sort of 20 billion pounds, like extraordinary amounts of money. And Andy Burnham is in a stuck between a rock and a hard place. Um uh Wilson, not spoken to you since this all broke. What are your thoughts on the appeal and just the whole thing? >> Well, I I should preface all of this by saying I'm not a lawyer. But, it from what I understand in talking to lawyers, the what we've heard so far does not seem to be particularly likely to affect the verdict. Um yeah, you can't appeal on the grounds of fact. You can only appeal on the grounds of process. Now, part of that process can be you can say, "Well, they didn't take into account these facts." You know, if if this um irrefutable evidence like you talked about is that I look, we can prove the government paid it, well, that, as far as I understand, it has already been produced for the original commission. So, I'm not sure that can be re-litigated. But, as I say, I'm not a lawyer. I wouldn't necessarily trust me on that. That's just me trying to to piece my way through this. The the that submission to the US court, I think, is is pretty damning as well. That's it's exactly the same as LIV Golf had a similar thing where it it was similar to the things he claimed to be a you know, a a Saudi government entity and therefore subject to diplomatic immunity, while also claiming have nothing to do with the Saudi government. So, uh you know, I I I think it's complicated to to make that stick, but maybe maybe there is some technicality there that they're not seeing. I don't know. Um the Abu Dhabi investment I think there's two points to be made there. So, the first is these are investments. They're not They're not gifts. It's It's a business deal. Now, either the business deal makes sense as a business deal or it doesn't. So, yeah, the idea that some kind of charity, I think is is misleading. Obviously, investment is good. Uh yeah. With with with with caveats, but um the idea that that to sort of Abu Dhabi's doing Britain a favor by by making these investments, I think it's slightly misguided. I'd also my question would be where are these leaks coming from and whose interest is it for that story to be out there? And obviously, I don't know this. Obviously, this is speculation, but it wouldn't surprise me to learn that these have been leaked by the government because they want to make clear they're trying to hold a sausage here and to create a sort of backlash against that. So, Burnham clearly is in a difficult position because as mayor of Manchester, there there was significant Abu Dhabi investment in Manchester. If you had a thought on what you think the punishment should be, I know you you wrote a piece saying that their title should be stripped but not given to someone else, which I I don't disagree with, to be honest. Yeah, I mean, that's pretty much what I think should happen and I think I don't I don't I I don't see how any punishment other than expulsion from the league makes sense. Now, that probably means they come back in in league two. Um Yeah, there may well be practical reasons why that can't be done. I don't know. But, that would seem fair to me. That would then force a you know, a sale. The you know, this squad of players would would leave, but the club would still be an entity. Maybe they they get into so much trouble they'd have to be bailed out, but clubs have survived that. But I think when you've cheated for this long and at this scale, and it's it's not even the the overpayments, it's the scale of the deception and the cheating. Um the attitude to questioning that I think makes it so abhorrent. So So, yeah, I I I think expel them from the league and take the titles away. The the issue of whether those titles should be reallocated, I think that's probably a subjective um thing for fans, whether they want that or not. Personally, yeah, I don't particularly want the 2014 League Cup being awarded to Sunderland. That would seem cheap. It would seem empty. And if Sunderland ever do win anything in my lifetime, I'd like it to be proper and real. And that would almost sort of um reduce the impact of that moment were it to happen in the future. Maybe fans other Sunderland fans feel differently. Maybe fans of other clubs feel differently. But I think the the problem, particularly with leagues, is and I think it's 2017-18 when this is particularly apparent, that City were 15 points clear at the end of January and then there were another four teams within five points behind them. And of those four teams, you had uh Spurs, Chelsea, and Manchester United all got to the FA Cup semis. So, if they were prioritizing the FA Cup, that would make complete sense. And Liverpool got to the Champions League final. So, if they were prioritizing that, that would make complete sense. So, just because Manchester United came second, even in cups, because who knows who's playing for what team and where that, you know, who's gone where and etc. and etc. Yeah, I totally agree with you. >> I I I I I even think leaving leaving those records blank, leaving that roll of honor blank, I think that is an appropriate monument to what's been done to English football. That people in 30 years, 50 years, 100 years going, "Why why wasn't there a 17-18 league champion? Why wasn't there a 2014 League Cup champion? Oh, it's because this team cheated." I I think that is that is an appropriate um monument to that. >> It's been so fascinating to see this story unfold, and we're all, you know, anybody who says they're not itching to just wait for the sanctions to be just dropped is lying, I think. But how have you found the whole thing? >> It's kind of it's almost been like sort of the stages of grief. Like so sometimes I find it all very funny. Sometimes I'm really sad and and quite angry that a lot of it was kind of, you know, the Aguero moment was so amazing. And like Martin Tyler's commentary was just like it's the most perfect piece of and it's kind of like, "Well, that shouldn't have happened." >> This is a crime against commentary. >> Oh, but it's it's >> [laughter] >> No, but it sullies it, doesn't it? It does. And it was such an incredible moment. Yeah. No, and that's >> It's fascinating. I I commentate a season. The commentators are [laughter] the real victims here. >> Yeah. I've got to stick up for my my brethren. Yeah, that is it's it's a difficult one. I mean, it's it I'm really I'm just fascinated by cuz obviously we're heading into the week ahead of the new the Premier League restarting, and every single manager is going to be asked about this. I'm just really interested to hear what they all say. And actually in particular Mikel Arteta, what line does he take? Cuz he was sort of there >> Yeah. >> for a lot of it. Is he going to go down the sort of um >> It's a disgrace, yeah. If he says "disgracia", that would be good, wouldn't it? >> Yeah. >> [laughter] >> It's like Yeah, he was involved. So I just Yeah, I'm just I'm just I'm just fascinated. And it's just it is interesting also just from and I've not interviewed or spoken to any sort of players, but it does just you can correct me if I'm wrong. It just feels like a lot of them the actual players think "We don't mind that much particularly because we feel like we even though this team shouldn't have been put together, shouldn't have been allowed to put together, they're not sort of robots or AI, which will have to come in the coming years. You know, they did it, they're humans, and they're incredible athletes, and they and they, you know, they they kind of achieved that. Clearly they were they shouldn't have been put together at the same time, and they shouldn't have had Pep Guardiola as their coach cuz that that just wouldn't have happened had they played by the rules. But it seems like they're kind of competing against each other as sort of fellow sports people and although they, you know, I guess they could claim there's a sort of loss of earnings, loss of uh opportunity maybe had they won more. I just feel like a lot of them are like, well, they were just better than us. I mean, as I say, I might be wrong. >> I think I think you're right, a lot of players do think like that. Uh Gabby Agbonlahor put the other point, I think, really well cuz he was in the Villa side who lost three players in three seasons to City, was making the point, well, this wouldn't have happened to us, and that other team Yeah, certainly European qualification or you know, Champions League qualification was was possible for them. So, yeah, I think on the one level, I think players who've who've lost them on the pitch sort of just go, well, they're they're better than us, that's fine. But then actually there are other players who have had have been directly affected by it in the sense that their squads have been weakened. >> Robin, have you heard uh uh the Manchester City women's team or is is there a going to be any knock-on effect on them or their players worried about this or have any of them commented on it? >> Not the players. I know they were the manager was asked, Andrea Aggeler was asked, and he just said business as usual, and I think he was asked repeatedly, and I think the press officer kind of shut it down. But I can't see how they're not affected, you know, they've they've obviously had a lot of investment into their team ever since uh the Abu Dhabi takeover came, and they've they've had probably not as much success as they should have had on the pitch, but you know, they they certainly would look very very different. So, I can't really see how how they're not affected, really. >> Mhm. And they're top of the league. Uh beat Arsenal yesterday, didn't they? And you can hear all about that and the impact of the charge, etc., on the women's team on the Guardian women's football weekly, which is tomorrow.