Premier League managers have reacted cautiously to the verdict in Manchester City’s financial-rule case as attention turns back to domestic football this weekend.
Manchester City were recently found guilty of breaching the majority of the 115 financial rules they had been accused of breaking. The club has since launched an appeal and continues to deny wrongdoing.
According to BBC Sport, Coventry City manager Frank Lampard was measured in his response when asked about the case, insisting he would wait for the outcome of the appeal before offering a stronger opinion.
“We’ve all seen the news; it’s obviously big news. Man City are appealing,” Lampard said.
“What can you say when an appeal is going on? I’m not inside the story, I’m outside it completely. I played for Man City a long time ago now, for one year. We’ll wait and see what the result of the appeal is.”
The former England midfielder also stressed that he was not directly involved in the situation and preferred to focus on his own responsibilities.
“I have this job and my own things I need to work on. They are obviously a huge football club with a huge squad of quality players, so we will see,” he added.
Leeds United manager Daniel Farke also declined to comment extensively on the verdict, arguing that others were better placed to discuss the matter.
“Not my topic. My topic is football,” Farke said.
“There are more qualified people to speak on this. It makes no sense if right now everyone wants to have an opinion about this topic.”
The verdict has intensified scrutiny on Manchester City ahead of their Premier League clash against Liverpool on Sunday.
Attention will now shift to City manager Enzo Maresca, who is expected to address the media on Friday in what will be his first major press conference since the ruling.
With City’s appeal ongoing, questions surrounding the case are expected to remain a major talking point in the weeks ahead.
