England captain Harry Kane has revealed he had no idea about the guilty verdict against Manchester City in the build-up to the Three Lions' match against Czechia. The Premier League confirmed that an independent panel had found City guilty in 114 of the 115 charges for breaches of financial rules on Tuesday afternoon.
The explosive statement came just hours before England kicked off their Nations League match in Prague. Thomas Tuchel's men came out as 2-0 winners. City vehemently deny the charges and will appeal the decision.
Kane unaware of verdict before match
Marc Guehi and Elliot Anderson both played in the match against Czechia, with Nico O'Reilly missing through injury. Despite the situation going on at their club, Kane revealed that there was not any talk of it before the match.
Speaking following England's triumph, the striker, who netted the second goal, admitted that the verdict had barely registered in the England dressing room. "To be honest today I didn't even know the news literally until after the game," said the Three Lions skipper. "I've been off my phone all day."
"I can't comment on it now. I'm sure in the next days it will be spoken about in a casual way. I always say when we're here we're with England. We have our England head on and those guys [Anderson, O'Reilly and Guehi] will deal with it obviously when they are back. From our point of view it is all about Croatia on Saturday."
Tuchel avoids City topic
England manager Thomas Tuchel has adopted a similar approach. When quizzed on whether he felt compelled to 'look after' the City players within his squad, he responded: "I did not actually because I am just focused on everything we have to deal with here and to prepare the team. I did not talk to them about the issue and I will not comment on it."
"I think Marc today was absolutely excellent after a tough match against Spain. The reaction was on the highest level and Elliot Anderson had a good match as well."
City statement vows to fight
Shortly after the Premier League's statement, where it was revealed that City have been found guilty of 'sham' sponsorship deals, City released a statement of their own, hitting back at the Premier League. In it they vowed to continue to fight to prove their innocence.
"Manchester City FC is both disappointed and surprised by the opinion of the Premier League Commission, that has been published today," the statement read. "The Club is innocent of the accusations made by the Premier League and a comprehensive body of irrefutable evidence exists in support of all of its positions, relating to this case. The Club will therefore be relentless, and where necessary proactive, in any and all appropriate regulatory and legal forums."
"The Premier League process remains ongoing, with significant elements uncompleted. Manchester City FC will now pursue the appeal avenues open to it, on the basis that the opinion contains clear material errors, of law, principle and fact, and is unsafe." The club added that it 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, and that it is restricted in what it can say further until all future proceedings are complete.
