Man City charges: Erling Haaland encourages club's fans to stay positive after guilty verdict

"Stick together, enjoy the ride and smile," is Erling Haaland's message to Man City fans.

The club have launched an appeal against the verdict of an independent commission finding them guilty of all charges related to serious breaches of Premier League financial rules.

City insist in their statement they are "innocent" and have described the judgement against them as "opinion" and claimed it "contains clear material errors, of law, principle and fact and is unsafe".

The independent commission found that between 2009/10 and 2017/18, Man City arranged "sham" contracts with a number of its commercial partners as part of a "disguised funding scheme" to artificially inflate the club's revenues by £830m.

Amid all the off-field news, Haaland and his team-mates go to Anfield on Sunday, live on Sky Sports, to face Liverpool.

Asked what he would say to the City supporters ahead of that game, Haaland said: "They're going to have a good time.

"We have to stick together. We have to stay with each other, and we have to stay positive. No matter what happens in life, we always have to have a smile.

"So we have to stay positive, look ahead, and try to win football games and try to enjoy the situation and win the game.

"We have to stick together; we have to spread the love to each other. So yeah: stick together, and enjoy the ride and smile."

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Haaland - the son of former City player Alf-Inge Haaland - says he considers himself a fan of City, too, and referenced his connection with Manchester.

"I care a lot about the city, I have to say. I care a lot about the fans because I'm a fan myself, and I feel with them as well."

City's matches with Liverpool became big rivalry games during the Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp eras at the two clubs and Haaland is looking forward to the occasion.

"It's always special to play against Liverpool. Especially with Pep and Klopp. I remember sitting in Salzburg and Dortmund and watching the games, how much they pushed each other. It's always special games there.

"I won there, I drew there, I lost. So it's always special, and every Premier League game is different, and every game against Liverpool is always special."

Maresca remains 'very calm' and 'trusts club completely'

Man City boss Enzo Maresca has also spoken for the first time since the independent commission's verdict in an interview conducted by the club.

The Italian insists he is "very calm", "completely trusts" the club and that his players "don't care too much about the noise".

He told CityTV: "Personally, I'm very calm, to be honest. The club has been quite clear. We trust completely the club.

"We understand the noise but the focus for us is just what we can control and we can control just the football side.

"The feeling is fantastic, to be honest. The players are excited for the next two games. But especially they are excited because in this moment, we are top of the league.

"The players are just focused on that. They know what we can control is the football side - they are not worried at all about different things.

"They know their profession and they know that the noise is there but they don't care too much about the noise. They are just focused in this moment on how we can beat Liverpool and how, together with the fans, we can try to win at Anfield."

Maresca is set to be quizzed further on the guilty verdict at a pre-match press conference on Friday at 10.30am, which you can follow live on Sky Sports News ​​​​​​and digital platforms.

What did the independent commission find?

• Manchester City arranged "sham" contracts with a number of its commercial partners as part of a "disguised funding scheme" to artificially inflate the club's revenues by £830m.
• The club filed accounts that concealed the true state of its finances.
• Manchester City were significantly in breach of both the Premier League's and UEFA's spending limits and broke "well over 100" Premier League regulations.
• Manchester City failed to co-operate and act in good faith towards the league during the investigation, with three out of four alleged breaches upheld and one charge not proven.
• The commission also said it was "regrettable" that a decision had taken so long to reach, with the hearing having taken place between September and December 2024.

City: Process was not impartial

Following the publication of the guilty verdict on September 29, a Manchester City statement read: "Manchester City FC is both disappointed and surprised by the opinion of the Premier League commission, that has been published today.

"The club is innocent of the accusations made by the Premier League and a comprehensive body of irrefutable evidence exists in support of all of its positions, relating to this case. The club will therefore be relentless, and where necessary proactive, in any and all appropriate regulatory and legal forums.

"The Premier League process remains ongoing, with significant elements uncompleted. Manchester City FC will now pursue the appeal avenues open to it, on the basis that the opinion contains clear material errors, of law, principle and fact, and is unsafe.

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

"The club is obviously restricted in what it can say further until all future proceedings are complete."

Manchester City's statement erroneously refers to a Premier League commission. It is an independent commission.

Why Man City's appeal could drag into 2027

Latest from Sky Sports News' Kaveh Solhekol and Amar Mehta:

Manchester City's appeal could drag on into next year if they argue that the process should not be run according to Premier League rules which were introduced for this season.

City have filed their appeal and the new rules about appeals state that this part of the disciplinary process has to be concluded within 12 weeks and the appeal hearing can last no longer than five days.

City's lawyers could argue that they were charged in 2023 and a hearing was held in 2024 - when the rules about a speeded-up appeals process were not in the Premier League Handbook.

A legal expert told Sky Sports News Manchester City would have a strong case for arguing that the new rules should not apply in this case.

The new rules were introduced to ensure that clubs, where possible, were punished in the same season as relevant rule breaches.

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