Kane unaware of Man City guilty verdict until after England's win over Czechia

Harry Kane admitted he was completely in the dark about Manchester City’s Premier League guilty verdict until after England’s 2-0 Nations League win over Czechia in Prague on Tuesday evening — the same afternoon the explosive ruling was published.

An independent panel found City guilty of breaching financial rules in 114 of the 115 charges brought against them by the Premier League, with the club immediately vowing to appeal. The verdict centred in part on what the Premier League described as ‘sham’ sponsorship deals.

“To be honest today I didn’t even know the news literally until after the game,” said Kane, who scored England’s second goal. “I’ve been off my phone all day. I can’t comment on it now. I’m sure in the next days it will be spoken about in a casual way. I always say when we’re here we’re with England.”

Three City players featured in the match — Marc Guehi, Elliot Anderson and the injured Nico O’Reilly, who missed out — but Kane said the verdict did not surface in the dressing room beforehand. “Those guys will deal with it obviously when they are back,” he added. “From our point of view it is all about Croatia on Saturday.”

England manager Thomas Tuchel echoed that approach, saying he did not speak to the City contingent about the ruling and had no plans to do so. “I am just focused on everything we have to deal with here and to prepare the team,” Tuchel said. He praised Guehi as “absolutely excellent” and noted Anderson “had a good match as well.”

Manchester City released a defiant statement shortly after the Premier League’s announcement. “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,” it read. “The Club will therefore be relentless, and where necessary proactive, in any and all appropriate regulatory and legal forums.”

City said they were “both disappointed and surprised” by the commission’s opinion and confirmed they intend to fight the verdict through every available avenue.