Man City vs Liverpool is a classic under a cloud after appalling decision
Pep Guardiola versus Jurgen Klopp is one of the most compelling managerial rivalries of all time. The pair have pitted their wits against each other on 28 occasions, Klopp successful 12 times, Guardiola 11 times and honours shared five times.
Their 29th meeting, at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday, will, without doubt, be another enthralling contest because these two brilliant managers do not know how to produce anything else. But make no mistake, this particular instalment has a cloud over it - and that cloud is made up of the 115 Premier League charges faced by Manchester City.
Ah, but those charges were there when Liverpool went to City back in April and got a 4-1 hammering. Yes, but those charges have now been made front and centre of the Premier League stage - top, middle and bottom of its in-tray - by the draconian punishment of Everton for a breach of the profit and sustainability rules.
Let’s make one thing perfectly clear - Manchester City have NOT been found guilty of ANY of the 115 charges and are vigorously contesting each and every one of them. And even in Premier League law, you are innocent until proven guilty. But what the Everton case has done is dramatically increased the need for the City charges to be sorted without delay.
For this season to have any credibility, City must discover their fate before it comes to an end and, preferably, a long time before that final game because if the independent commission did prove any of the charges, there would surely be an appeal.
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Klopp and Guardiola will go head-to-head for the 29th time (Michael Regan/Getty Images)The Premier League’s governance is, or should be, under intense scrutiny right now, particularly after the appalling decision - voted in by only eight of the 20 clubs and riddled with self-interest - to not ban loan deals between clubs with shared ownership interests.
If the harsh punishment of Everton was meant to be some sort of sign that the Premier League could regulate itself, the loan-deal call was a sign that it cannot. And if it allows the City case to be kicked into the legal long grass, it will be another sign it cannot regulate itself.
The 115 charges barely got a mention when City swashbuckled their way to a wonderful treble last season but they have now been put up in neon lights by the brutal Everton verdict.
Not only is the Premier League’s credibility at stake but, for the sake of its reputation, the club should also want a quick - and, obviously, fair - resolution, if only to try and correct a lot of people out there who just assume City have broken rules.
Obviously, City’s case appears to be more complex than Everton’s and it actually took a four-year investigation before charges were made. But the need for verdicts to be accelerated could not be greater. Yes, the 29th collision between Guardiola and Klopp might well be another classic … but it will be a classic under a cloud.
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