Noel Gallagher begs EPL bosses not to punish Manchester City fans despite 'breaking financial rules'

Noel Gallagher, who will tour with Oasis again next year, has responded to the bombshell development Manchester City have been found guilty on 114 of the 115 charges

Noel Gallagher has begged Premier League bosses not to punish fans of his beloved Manchester City for more than 100 alleged breaches of financial rules.

The Oasis star was shocked by reports the football giants have been found guilty of 114 alleged offences and could now face a massive fine, point deductions, stripped trophies, or even enforced relegation. Noel, 59, said: "Whatever goes on in the boardroom, it's nothing to do with the supporters or the players. Our focus as fans is always on the pitch and we know what we saw. They won it on the pitch.

"Whether some of those players should have been there or not, that's nothing to do with the fans. We were there, we know what we saw. Does it taint it? I suppose in the eyes of everybody else in England it would, but I know what I saw and I know what I felt."

Noel, who is pals with the club's former boss Pep Guardiola, added: "I'm sad for the fans and the players and a little surprised because all along the club reassured us and vehemently denied all the charges. It was a shock to hear we were guilty on all but one of them."

Man City, owned by mega-rich Emirati royal Sheikh Mansour, are expected to appeal the verdicts, which were first reported on Friday after a three and a half year probe by an independent Premier League commission. At least four clubs, including Arsenal, Man United, Liverpool and Tottenham, have already reportedly preserved their rights to claim compensation for loss of earnings under Section W of Premier League rules. Other clubs are also tonight understood to be taking legal advice about the possibility of legal action.

Christian Purslow, who has previously held top executive roles at Liverpool, Chelsea and Aston Villa, today warned the verdicts could kick-off a chain of events that would be "appalling for the game". Mr Purslow said: "It's a sort of 'where does this end?' because if you look at every single season - the nine seasons which we now know Manchester City breached rules - then all of their 19 Premier League rivals in that season, to differing extents, suffered easy-to-compute loss.

"Whether it was a place in the Premier League - every place was worth £3million. Teams that came fifth who didn't make the Champions League maybe lost tens of millions of pounds - and of course teams that were relegated.

"Let's say the team that finished 18th would've finished 17th if Manchester City weren't there. And they, of course, suffered huge loss. If you add all those claims up, over nine years, and that's just in the Premier League, you can see that the potential here for this to spiral out of control is huge."

Mr Purslow added: "I really hope that common sense prevails here and that there is a comprehensive solution between the authorities and Manchester City that looks at all these issues and tries to draw a line in the sand. Because a never-ending waterfall of legal claims and uncertainties for another four or five years would be absolutely appalling for the game."

Writing on X, Noel's younger brother Liam, 54, today wrote: "We'll win the appeal and all the WETWIPES from other clubs begging for our titles need to sit down... embarrassing."

The alleged breaches took place between the 2009-10 and 2022-23 seasons, during which time Man City won seven Premier League titles, a Champions League, three FA Cups and six League Cups. They relate to a number of areas, with the most serious linked to claims the club failed to provide “accurate financial information” to the league.

They were accused of a wide range of rule breaches centring on claims they inflated sponsorship revenue from connected companies and made other "off the books" payments to circumvent football's financial rules.

Uefa previously found Man City in breach of football fair play rules in 2014, a decision that resulted in the club paying a €20m fine. By 2020, Uefa had suspended City from the Champions League for “overstating its sponsorship revenue in its accounts”. But the suspension was later overturned by the club on appeal to the court of arbitration for sport.

The Premier League or Man City, whose executives are said to have signed non-disclosure agreements, have so far refused to publicly confirm the latest alleged verdicts.

A Man City spokesperson said: “The Premier League process remains ongoing, with significant elements to be completed, and subject to strict confidentiality. As such Manchester City FC’s position remains consistent with the club’s statement of February 2023.

“The club has diligently respected due process for eight years on the basis the Premier League board and executive would behave as an independent, impartial and fair minded regulator, free from partisan influence.”

'Our confidence and intent in proving the club’s innocence is just as strong as when this began'

In an open letter today published on Man City's website, the club's chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak wrote: "Following Friday’s media reporting, many of you will have spent your evening answering questions and responding to messages from friends, family and colleagues. So have I. Here’s what I said to my family: The Premier League process still has a long way to run, and our confidence and intent in proving the club’s innocence is just as strong as when this began.

"There are so many things that I would like to be able to share with you to help you understand why we feel so confident in our position. But the strict confidentiality of the legal process and our determination to respect it means I cannot do that at the moment. Even this letter underwent several legal checks to make sure it complies."I ask you to please carefully read the statement below, which we gave on Friday, and the statement we issued in February 2023. Every word matters and holds true.

"While some people have been quick to reach their own conclusions, and there is so much noise swirling around us, nothing has changed. We have faced challenges together before and have prevailed. There remain many who want to undermine the momentum of our Club. We will not give them that opportunity.

Arsenal fan Piers Morgan today wrote on X: "Let’s be clear: Manchester City have been found guilty of being the biggest cheats in English football history, and the punishment must fit their crimes. At very minimum, they must be relegated from Premier League and stripped of all fraudulently ‘won’ titles."

Former Man City chairman David Bernstein told Times Radio: “I’m a fan of Manchester City and have been a fan for 70 years.“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.“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.”