Oliver Glasner urges closure of Man City saga to protect Premier League

Oliver Glasner, Nottingham Forest’s manager, is calling for the Manchester City saga to be wrapped up “as soon as possible” after a ruling found the club guilty of “sham contracts”. The coach says the damage from the case is already spreading beyond England.

Glasner believes the decision has struck the Premier League brand worldwide, and argues the league now faces “a job” to repair its image. He also warns that fans could “switch off” if they come to believe they can’t trust the competition, after City were found to have artificially inflated their income by more than £900m.

Integrity first

City have appealed last week’s decision from an independent commission. Glasner fears further fallout and says the process must be finalised quickly to protect the league’s integrity, pointing out that if City lose their appeal the panel could impose sporting sanctions including expulsion and points deductions.

His experience goes back to Crystal Palace. Glasner cited how arbitration at the Court of Arbitration for Sport dragged on, leaving uncertainty over whether Palace would be in the Europa League or the Conference League before a final verdict arrived 10 days before the Conference League began. “That’s why I think this must be completed as soon as possible,” he said.

He is not alone: Aston Villa’s Unai Emery was the first Premier League manager to comment on the City case, saying there would obviously be damage if other clubs had also had income artificially inflated, while insisting it is for the courts to decide. City, meanwhile, deny wrongdoing and say the appeal lodged last Thursday challenges the ruling for legal and factual errors.