Jamie Podmore

🚨🎙️ Gary Neville on UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham’s comments about Manchester City: “I find those comments absolutely staggering. At a time when Manchester City have just been found guilty of serious financial rule breaches, the Prime Minister is talking about how concerned he would be if their owners left. What message does that send? Are we now at the stage where money, investment and tax revenue matter more than the integrity of football? Because if that is the message coming from the top, then we have a serious problem. You cannot have one set of rules for the smaller clubs and another set of rules for the biggest and wealthiest clubs. If the rules have been broken, they must be dealt with properly. It doesn't matter how much money the owners have brought into Manchester. And let me be very clear — nobody should be influencing the independent process. The courts, regulators and football authorities must be allowed to do their jobs without political pressure. If Manchester City escape meaningful punishment simply because they are economically important, then forget sporting integrity. Every club in England will ask themselves why they should respect the rules. The Premier League cannot become a competition where the bigger your bank account, the safer you are from consequences. That would destroy the credibility of English football. I think the Prime Minister needs to clarify those comments, because right now they sound like he is more worried about losing Manchester City’s owners than protecting the integrity of the Premier League.”