MANCHESTER City have been “already sentenced” over alleged financial rule breaches, says manager Pep Guardiola.
The Premier League charged City with more than 100 breaches of its financial rules on Monday.
A two-year ban from European competitions for breaching Uefa’s Financial Fair Play (FFP) regulations was overturned by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (Cas) in 2020.
“The club proved they were completely innocent,” said Guardiola.
“What’s happened since Monday is the same as what happened with Uefa. We have already been condemned.
“You have to understand that 19 teams in the Premier League are accusing us without us having the ability to defend.
“We are lucky we live in a marvellous country where everyone is innocent until proven guilty.
“We didn’t have this opportunity, we are already sentenced. I am fully convinced we will be [proven] innocent.”
The Premier League has referred City to an independent commission over alleged rule breaches between 2009 and 2018, during which time the club won three of their six Premier League titles.
It also accused City of not co-operating since the investigation started in December 2018.
The commission can impose punishments ranging from a fine and points deduction to expulsion from the Premier League.
