Noel Gallagher: Condemning Manchester City will not change my view of the club’s achievements

Noel Gallagher, the star of the band “Oasis” and one of the most famous Manchester City fans, confirmed that the club’s conviction in the vast majority of the 115 cases related to alleged financial violations will not change his view of the achievements achieved by the team, stressing that he lived those moments himself, and for him they cannot be erased retroactively.

According to “The Athletic”, the independent committee examining the English Premier League’s case against Manchester City, which began in February 2023, found the club guilty of most of the accusations against it, with official confirmation of the decision to be issued soon.

The accusations relate to not providing accurate and up-to-date financial information, not submitting correct financial reports regarding the salaries and bonuses of players and coaches, not adhering to UEFA regulations, including the rules of fair financial play, in addition to violations of the rules of profitability and sustainability in the English Premier League, and not cooperating with the League’s investigations.

The conviction opened the door to the possibility of harsh penalties, including the withdrawal of titles won by City during the disputed period between 2009 and 2018, and perhaps beyond, in addition to the possibility of relegation to lower levels.

Rival clubs have also begun obtaining legal advice in preparation for claiming compensation for financial losses they believe they may have suffered as a result of the violations attributed to Manchester City.

Gallagher, who has strong personal relationships with a number of the club's most prominent figures, including Chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak and former coach Pep Guardiola, said in response to a question about whether City's achievements had been tarnished after the conviction: “No. I was there. “I know what I saw, and I know what I felt.”

He added: “If you are telling me that because of a sponsorship contract signed about 15 years ago, winning the league four times in a row, and Istanbul, and all those things no longer mean anything, and that the club should be burned and its fans exiled to North Korea, then you are acting hysterically.”

Guardiola had repeatedly defended Manchester City against accusations of financial irregularities, including the case that initially led to the club being banned from participating in the Champions League in 2020, before the Court of Arbitration for Sport overturned the penalty.

The Spanish coach left Manchester City last summer after winning 20 championships in ten years at Etihad Stadium, while his first two seasons with the team fall within the period covered by the English Premier League’s accusations.

Gallagher refused to consider Guardiola's legacy as having been damaged as a result of the results of the investigation, and he also expressed a defiant stance towards the possibility of Manchester City's relegation from the Premier League.

“Let it happen,” he said. I have fallen with this club to lower levels than you can imagine. If this club has to play a thousand games behind closed doors in Uganda, I will be there. "The guys who followed us to the third division will feel the same way."

He added: “We do not support Manchester City because of Abu Dhabi, Pep Guardiola, Erling Haaland, or Sergio Aguero. “We support Manchester City because it is part of our identity.”

Gallagher admitted that he felt “sadness” upon learning of the news, and asked the club’s management to communicate frankly and clearly with the fans following the official announcement of the decision, saying that he wanted to talk “from the heart, not in legal language.”

At the same time, he denied his feeling that the club management had let the fans down, adding: “We must not forget that the matter is not over. “There will be difficult weeks and months, but what they have given to the fans and to the city in general far exceeds what we are going through now.”

He continued: “The club did what it thought it had to do, and it still insists that it did not commit any mistake. I will take Khaldoun's word before any YouTube clown or biased former player turned analyst. Until Khaldoun speaks, I will stand with the club, and then we will see.”

Gallagher expects to be the target of a lot of backlash due to his global fame and his constant appearances at Manchester City matches, and he revealed that he was actually subjected to comments in the street hours after news of the conviction spread.

“Only 24 hours have passed, and people have already started screaming at me in the street,” he said.

He concluded his speech by stressing that the rest of the season will be turbulent, adding: “So what? This is football. If the situation were reversed, we would do to them the same thing they are doing to us now. No problem".