Guardiola has been taking aim at Javier Tebas and has not spared the La Liga president for his antagonistic words on City’s FFP charge being dropped.
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has been vehement in demanding an apology from UEFA after his side’s two-year ban from the Champions League was overturned by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) recently.
City were relieved when their ban from Europe’s premier competition was eventually lifted by the Court of Arbitration for Sport on Monday morning after they were cleared of the charge of flouting UEFA’s Financial Fair Play regulations.
With immediate effect, Guardiola’s side will now be able to compete in Europe’s most prestigious championships without restrictions.
When questioned in his press conference about the charges being dropped, the former Barcelona boss didn’t hold back and believes the traditionally established giants of English football like Manchester United, Liverpool and Arsenal are extremely “uncomfortable” with his side’s dominating presence at the top end of the Premier League.
“We should be apologised to because if we did something wrong we will accept the decision from UEFA because we did something wrong,” he said.
“We don’t expect Liverpool, Tottenham, Arsenal, Chelsea or Wolves to defend us but we have the right to defend ourselves when we believe what we have done is correct and three independent judges said this.
“Today is a good day, yesterday was a good day for football because we play by the same rules as all the clubs in Europe.
“If we had broken FFP, we would have been banned but we have to defend ourselves because we were right. People said we were cheating and lying and the presumption of innocence was not there.
“This club tried for the whole history, at Maine Road or without heroes like Colin Bell or Mike Summerbee, the legends that we have had, we have done our best to do it on the pitch.
“I know that for elite clubs like Liverpool, United, Arsenal, it is uncomfortable us being here.
“But they have to understand we deserve to be with them and fighting for the achievements that they have achieved in the past. We deserve to be stronger year by year. There are incredible people in this organisation working to make us better.
“We don’t have to ask permission to be there, we deserve to be there. When we lose, I will shake my hands and congratulate them but all the time we have done. Guys, accept it.
“We want to be here and we tried. Sometimes we win, sometimes not but they have to understand it. Don’t whisper and go behind our backs, do it on the pitch.
“People cannot forget we were damaged. Our reputation was damaged with accusations that show they were not true. That’s why they have to be both happy or at least accept because we should complain and we don’t so the other ones shouldn’t say much more than this.”
Although his views may not be acceptable, and even be viewed as being highly objectionable and provocative, to some quarters, particular those fingered at the highest echelons of the Premier League, Guardiola’s predilection is understandable as it has long been undercurrent that the long established traditional clubs have long had a stranglehold on English football, with murmurings of them exercising undue political influence and control over what transpires behind the scenes to their advantage.
Be as it may, regardless of whether the long-whispered rumors are true or otherwise, it’s still the right of individuals like Pep Guardiola and all others to boldly speak their minds in this era of openness and transparency, minus the cloak-and-dagger machinations.