Jesse Marsch says Man City should be relegated for financial breaches
The Canadian men's soccer coach says 'everyone knew' about the club's financial inconsistencies during his time managing in the Premier League.
Canadian men's soccer coach Jesse Marsch has called for Manchester City to be punished severely over breaches of Premier League financial rules, saying his experience managing against the club left him convinced there were inconsistencies in the way it operated.
"I think Man City should be punished severely. I think they should have to go down, and by the way, everyone knew about it. Everyone knew," Marsch told the Guardian in an interview published on Sunday.
City was found guilty of serious breaches of Premier League financial rules over nine seasons from 2009-10 to 2017-18, with the league alleging the club used "sham" commercial contracts to inflate revenue and understate costs by more than 900 million pounds ($1.19 billion US).
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The club has denied wrongdoing, saying the verdict contained material errors of law, principle and fact, and filed an appeal on Thursday against the independent commission ruling.
Marsch, who managed Leeds United from 2022 to 2023, said the disparity between the clubs had been apparent to him during his time in England.
He pointed to the 2022 summer transfer window, when Leeds sold Raphinha to Barcelona and Kalvin Phillips to City, while both clubs reported making money.
"That summer (2022), us and Man City were the only teams that said we made money. For us, we did make money, because we sold Raphinha, we sold Kalvin Phillips. We had a lot left over from what we bought," he said.
"At the time, we weren't in a position financially to not save. Our ownership didn't have deep pockets. Whereas when Man City says this, I was literally like, 'Are you kidding me? Is this some kind of joke?'"
The American coach was also skeptical about City's signing of Erling Haaland from Borussia Dortmund that summer.
"When they said they got Erling Haaland for £52m, it's like: 'Yeah, OK, sure!' So, I knew there were inconsistencies in it, but what can you do? You just put your arms in the air and go, 'This is football'," Marsch said.
City's appeal will be heard privately by an independent three-member board.
Potential sanctions include fines, points deductions and other sporting penalties, with relegation or the removal of titles also discussed as possible outcomes.
Football finance expert Kieran Maguire said given the offences took place over a longer period of time, a multiple points deduction would be expected.
"My gut reaction is we would be looking for somewhere in the region of perhaps 50 to 60 points," Maguire said.
"If it's more than 70 points, they're effectively relegated."
It remains unclear whether any sanctions would be imposed before the appeal is decided.
With files from CBC News, Football365 and Yahoo Sports