Liam Gallagher has once more leapt to the defence of Manchester City by accusing three rival Premier League sides of being 'more corrupt'. The Oasis star's beloved Sky Blues were recently found guilty of 114 breaches of Premier League financial regulations between the 2009/10 to 2017/18 campaigns.
Writing to his 3.8 million followers, Gallagher ranted: "All this hatred directed at Man City from other clubs should be directed at Arsenal Man United Liverpool. There the 1s who are corrupt and trying to stop other teams from winning things not Man City were trying to help you all out we're like Jesus prepared to die on the cross [sic]."
City still face relegation threat
For all of the rock icon's objections, City still potentially face relegation from the top division as they await their punishment verdict. The club insist they are "innocent of the accusations" and say they possess "a comprehensive body of irrefutable evidence" to back their case.
However, the Football Association has stated that the Independent Commission's ruling carries "significant implications" for the game's integrity. Last week, the Premier League claimed City had orchestrated "sham" sponsorship deals to artificially inflate income as part of a "disguised funding scheme" totalling £830.69million.
FA statement and appeal
The FA then declared they will "take action where appropriate" in their first statement following Man City's guilty verdict. They said: "The Independent Commission's decision has significant implications for the integrity of the game. We are carefully considering the decision and its implications and will take action where appropriate.
"As proceedings between the Premier League and Manchester City Football Club remain ongoing, we do not intend to comment further at this stage. We will, however, continue to monitor developments closely."
Despite this, City denied any wrongdoing and lodged an appeal on October 1. The club maintain that they are "innocent of the accusations made by the Premier League" and claim to possess "a comprehensive body of irrefutable evidence" to support their appeal.
Premier League chief responds
Commenting on the verdict, Premier League chief executive Richard Masters stated: "The core decision establishes the facts of what happened at Manchester City during this period. It details how the club systematically broke Premier League Rules for nearly a decade.
"It also vindicates the Premier League's decision to pursue this case against Manchester City. While the process to date has been both long and difficult, the League has remained determined that the facts be established independently. It is a key responsibility of the Premier League to ensure that the Rules, approved by the clubs themselves, are upheld to protect the integrity of the competition. It is paramount that the League remains competitive and fair for all clubs and for the fans.
"We take that role extremely seriously. This disciplinary case, and this decision, are the most significant in Premier League history. There are elements of the case that remain to be decided, including, importantly, what sanction must follow for these breaches. Now we have the Commission's decision, we are committed to moving swiftly through the remainder of the process, to provide certainty for the League, our clubs and fans."
Appeal argument dismissed
Integral to the club's appeal will be an argument that government funding, provided via the Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Court (CPC), gave financial assistance to sponsors in the emirate to help them to fulfil their liabilities to City, rather than Sheikh Mansour's Abu Dhabi United Group (ADUG) company, which owns the club. The 40-page core decision revealed that the independent commission dismissed the CPC explanation as "untrue" in its findings, stating: "We concluded that it was an 'explanation' that the club had concocted well after the event in an attempt to obscure and conceal the realities of the disguised funding scheme."
