Mauricio Pochettino has said that "no punishment will repair the damage" caused by Manchester City's alleged 114 financial breaches, while questioning the Premier League's oversight. The former Tottenham boss, now in charge of the USMNT, was manager at Spurs during the period in which City were found to have breached league regulations.
Pochettino questions Premier League controls
Speaking to the Guardian in Spanish, Pochettino asked: "Where were the controls? That's what gets my attention. Where were the controls? If I remember being at Southampton, then Tottenham – I remember building [the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium] and not having the economic possibility of a transfer for 18 months."
He added: "I think we were the only team in the history of the Premier League with 18 months without [making a transfer]. If a team like us, Tottenham, was fighting for titles with those above us and every year in the top four, getting to the semi-finals of Champions League without being able to do a transfer for 18 months, all because we needed to get used to the [Premier League financial controls]? They were so strict with us but also so lenient with others. Because of that, that's why I say: it's all very strange."
Damage to sporting fairness
Pochettino said: "At the end of the day, we went through something where sporting fairness didn't exist. So, how do you repair everything that was damaged because of that, if it's true all of the 114 rules that were broken, we've lived through a period of deception."
He continued: "Whatever punishment [they choose], it's impossible to turn back time. It's done a lot of damage, more than anything the guidelines. At the end of the day many clubs followed the rules and some didn't. Maybe they thought that the punishment [wouldn't come for a lot of years] – what are they going to do? An economic punishment? Docking points?"
Pochettino concluded: "It's really hard and it is a huge sadness. At the end of the day we get into a situation where what got celebrated wasn't that real, what seemed good maybe wasn't so good, what didn't look good maybe was good but couldn't be good because of what happened."
