Man City fans face up to reality of guilty verdict

The verdict appears to be in - Manchester City have been found guilty of the majority of the 115 financial rule breaches they were charged with.

Following the initial charges brought forward in February 2023, relating to the Premier League's financial rules, a decision was seemingly delivered on Friday in a moment that sent shockwaves around English football.

City, though, have always denied wrongdoing and BBC Sport has been told they would appeal were they found guilty.

But, long before the arrival of the Abu Dhabi ownership group, Pep Guardiola, Premier League title triumphs and the holy grail of the Champions League, City supporters - like any other side - have been the fabric of the football club.

Managers and players come and go but fans remain through thick and thin - now they must face up to possible sanctions which could include a points deduction, financial penalties or even removal from the Premier League.

Three years ago, City were charged and referred to an independent commission over alleged breaches that were said to have taken place between 2009 and 2018.

During that period, the club won three Premier League titles - including their first in 2011-12 - one FA Cup and three EFL Cups.

Man City fan David Mooney, from the Blue Moon podcast, told BBC Radio 5 Live: "I am a bit shocked and stunned about how to process it.

"I imagine as time goes on it will just come with a tinge of disappointment, more than anything else. It is a really weird feeling to process. It has been such a good time over this last 10 years or so, it questions your own experience.

"On the one hand you've got this great enjoyment from the team you have supported all your life winning unprecedented success and playing football like we've never seen before.

"But then having in the back of your mind that everybody thinks we have cheated to do this and everybody thinks this is illegitimate, and that it hasn't been fairly achieved.

"If Manchester City are guilty then the City fans are just as much the victims in this as everybody else because their feelings have been used as well.

"It's just that they had a good time for 10 years and now have to face reality."

The current generation of City fans only know about success, but those from yesteryear know all about watching their side playing in the old Division Two.

Their promotion via the play-offs at the end of the 1998-99 season came after facing the likes of York City, Oldham Athletic and Chesterfield in the league.

Fast forward almost three decades, City now possess one of the best strikers in the world in Erling Haaland, who reached 100 Premier League goals faster than anyone in the competition's history.

City sit top of the table after winning all five of their league games so far and their first game after the international break is a trip to face Liverpool at Anfield.

City fan Matt said on 5 Live: "I think I need therapy now. It has escalated over the last few hours. It's so hard to be a die-hard Blue. The decision is made, yet we haven't appealed it or really made a statement yet.

"I was there when Paul Dickov scored back in Division Two. We celebrated that success and went on to do incredible things. We have a song about going down with a billion in the bank.

"If we get titles taken off us, point deductions, we come out of this league, then we will fight until the end. I can't wait to see Erling Haaland bag a hat-trick against Grimsby.

"You go through the good times and the hard times. We have to go to Liverpool and it's going to be very interesting to see how we react. We boo the Champions League anthem, well what about the Premier League?"

After missing out to Chelsea in the 2021 Champions League final, City finally claimed the biggest prize in European club football two years later by beating Inter Milan.

For many, it was an 'I was there' moment.

Season ticket holder John said on 5 Live: "I was in Istanbul [for the 2023 Champions League final], that will never be taken away from me what I experienced that day, the build-up to the game and the game, and the day after, and everything that went along with it.

"That will never be taken away from me, regardless of what's been decided in the court or elsewhere along with the Premier League."

Fellow supporter David Wilson told BBC News: "You will never take away all the memories of all those moments and trophies from City fans. Those will live on regardless what happens over the next weeks, months and years.

"There are many fans who were there when we were in the lower divisions, and they will stick by the club. What we want as fans is an explanation as to why - if we have been found guilty - we have dragged it out so long. Some context behind it.

"True City fans, and fans who have been there all their lives, will still love the club dearly no matter what other people say."