Enzo Maresca, Manchester City's manager, was approached for comment regarding whether he is seeking reassurance from the club about their continued stance of innocence. His representatives sent The Guardian a screenshot of a quote by the Greek philosopher Socrates that Maresca has displayed on his Instagram account. The quote reads: “The only thing I know is that I know nothing.” Underneath, Maresca has written: “Time to breathe. Time to analyse. Time to learn.”
Republic of Ireland delays press conference and training
The Republic of Ireland's press conference and scheduled training ahead of their Nations League fixture with Israel in Debrecen, Hungary, were both delayed on Saturday morning. Republic manager Heimir Hallgrimsson and a player were due to address the media at 10.15am local time, but a UEFA official announced about 15 minutes beforehand that it was to be put back until after their training session, to 12.30pm local time.
It was later announced that the team would be 20 minutes late for their training session, due to start at 11.00am local time, but as of just before 12.00pm local time the team had not yet arrived at the Nagyerdei Stadium. UEFA officials were unsure of the reason behind the delay, although players had announced they would meet on Friday to discuss the situation.
Player statement speculation and growing pressure
There were reports a player statement would be released before the press conference, amid speculation on Saturday morning that a player has refused to play in the match. The Press Association has contacted the Football Association of Ireland for comment. Teams who do not meet obligations can be subject to warnings or fines from UEFA.
Speaking after Thursday's 1-0 defeat to Kosovo in Pristina that began the Republic's Nations League campaign, midfielder Jason Knight said: “Look, it’s difficult. I don’t think the game obviously should be going ahead but it is going ahead. We’ll have a deeper talk about it and what that means, we’ll get our thoughts as a group and go from there. I’m quite experienced. None of us have gone through this scenario before but I’d like to think I’m experienced, thick-skinned and I can get through most things and that is what I will try and do. I’ll try and focus on the football as much as I can. I’ll give my view and my thoughts on it (the Israel games) when I see fit, but I’ll be trying to focus on the football as much as possible.”
The team has been under increasing pressure in Ireland, where affinity with Palestinians is strong, to boycott the two games — the first on Sunday and the second, Ireland's “home” game, in Backa Topola, Serbia on Oct. 4. Ireland coach Heimir Hallgrimsson previously said “we’re not playing with genocide, we’re playing against genocide. We’re playing against Israel, we’re not playing with Israel” — drawing a furious reaction from the Israeli soccer federation, which accused the Icelandic coach of “stupidity, ignorance and hypocrisy.”
The Football Association of Ireland had resisted calls to boycott the matches, arguing the team could be hit by punishing sanctions by UEFA. Ireland is co-hosting the 2028 European Championship with England, Wales and Scotland. More than 160 Irish sportspeople signed an open letter urging the FAI to reconsider its decision to go ahead with the fixtures.
Bernstein: 'Money is not sufficient' for City punishment
Former Manchester City chairman David Bernstein believes “money is not sufficient” in terms of a potential punishment for the club being found guilty on virtually all counts of breaching Premier League financial rules. News broke on Friday that City had been found guilty on all but one of the 115 charges laid by the Premier League in February 2023, charges the club have always strenuously denied. The charges date back to the 2009-10 season, since which time City have won multiple major trophies.
City are expected to appeal, and Bernstein, who was City chairman between 1998 and 2003, would want to see that process dealt with quickly. He told Times Radio: “I felt absolutely awful, I felt in shock yesterday, actually. I think you’ve asked me on the programme because of my time as chair of City and the FA, but basically I’m a fan of Manchester City and have been a fan for 70 years. It’s really awful that this great period of success, which followed many years of being less successful, when I was chair I think I helped get the club out of a very difficult period and started the road to better things. But to see all this tarnished in this way is very sad, I feel particularly bad for the wonderful supporters of the club who’ve stayed with the club through thick and thin. It’s a pretty bad day I think for the fans in blue of Manchester.”
Asked what the correct punishment would be, Bernstein said: “First of all, the timing of this I think is crucial. This whole process has taken too long already. So the appeal process now has to be done quickly because…you’ve got the club playing with this cloud over its head and it’s just not viable. The appeal process cannot go on for year after year, I think that would be a disaster. Not just for this particular case but for English football generally. The timing is crucial. I can’t give a view on the punishment. If they are found, after the appeal, guilty of 115 charges, my beloved club is going to face a very severe penalty. All I would say is that money is not sufficient, it would have to be something, unfortunately, more drastic than that.”
Rodri and Tuchel comments
Rodri says nobody can take away Manchester City players' success and still believes in his former club's innocence despite reports they have been found guilty of breaching Premier League financial rules. “We have faced something similar back in 2020, we had a similar judicial process,” the Barcelona midfielder said. “Different accusation but similar process. There as well in the first instance we were found guilty, but we believed in the club and the innocence that the club maintained and in the end we ended up acquitted. So, I believe in the justice system, and I believe in the innocence of the club.”
Asked if such talk hurts having achieved so much with City, Rodri said: “For us, the players, it is a different thing than for you guys. I can understand all kind of opinions, and it is something that now is big. But we always tried to think in a positive way, when you live that club daily and the people who have worked hard all these years to have all the success we had. Not only Pep [Guardiola] and the players but all the structure, from the owners to the guys who worked daily. What we did, they cannot take it out of us. It is something that is not paid by money, it is paid with effort, with partnership and with being shoulder to shoulder every day. We had a lot of success over the years and here in Wembley, so I can tell you everything was deserved and I’m glad I could live one of the best eras of English football.”
Thomas Tuchel has thrown Cole Palmer's England future into major doubt by questioning whether the Chelsea attacker wants to be part of his squad. England's head coach did not hold back on Palmer's latest withdrawal from international duty, warning that the 24-year-old has missed too many opportunities to play for his country. Palmer has only 14 caps and his decision not to join up with the squad this week, because of a minor muscular injury, caused disappointment given he was left out of Tuchel's World Cup squad after struggling with form and fitness last season. Tuchel said: “He misses too many camps. That’s the overall headline. We have a lot of invitations and he couldn’t make this one. It is what it is. I am not ready to focus on players who are not here. The players that are here have my full attention. It is a missed opportunity. He [Palmer] misses too many opportunities. I don’t blame him for it. It is just a fact. He misses way too many camps with injuries, and I only want to rely on what I witness within my team, and for that you have to be in camp.”
Liverpool appoint new sporting director
Liverpool have appointed Julian Ward as their sporting director for a second time following the departure of Richard Hughes to Al-Hilal. England host Spain at Wembley this evening, with Tuchel saying of Spain's possession-based style: “I think it is an advantage in general. Not only against us, but against everyone. This is how they play. I think they rely on that. This is how they train and they were brought up. This is clearly part of them. But at the moment, I think the more you analyse Spain and their last matches they played in, you have to admire the way in which they defend. They added this to their game. It is collective work and they are masters of delaying and pushing you towards wide areas where they can initiate the press. They have world class goalkeepers, as you know - three of them - but they are hardly tested. It is so difficult for every single team in the world to create chances against them. We have a plan and we have ambition, and we want to prove the opposite. We want to be the exception to the rule, but at the moment they are a very complete team.”
