Gary Neville: Man City Verdict Risks Premier League Serie A Fate
Gary Neville says Manchester City's guilty verdict has left the Premier League's reputation at risk, warning that English football is being "dragged through the mud" in the eyes of a global audience. The explosive ruling issued this week found City guilty on almost all of the charges brought against them.
It also alleged that the club benefited from sham arrangements worth around £900 million, sending shockwaves through football and beyond. Neville believes the damage to what he describes as Britain's biggest global export could endure for years.
The former Manchester United defender fears the Premier League could suffer a fate similar to Serie A, whose international standing fell sharply after the 2006 Calciopoli scandal. That case exposed the alleged influence of Italian clubs over referees, with Juventus stripped of titles and relegated to Serie B.
Speaking on the latest episode of the Stick to Football podcast, Neville said the verdict was alarming rather than something to celebrate. This is chilling, not celebratory, he said.
"I support Manchester United, you support Liverpool, and you were Arsenal. But it is chilling to listen to this.
Italian football has suffered immeasurably over the past 25 years. We played against Juventus and, at the time, felt that something was not right.
I'm not saying the same thing will happen to the Premier League, but we have always believed this league has enormous integrity. Gary Neville fears Manchester City's guilty verdict could cause lasting damage to the Premier League We have viewed ourselves as the competition that sets the standard, while other leagues were associated with corruption, fraud, doping, match-fixing and referee scandals.
Now, this is coming to our country and our league. The Premier League is the greatest export we have.
Neville continued: If you travel around the world and mention Liverpool, Manchester United or Arsenal, people immediately think of the Premier League. People talk about the Premier League more than almost anything else when you tell them where you are from."