Robertson insists Man City players blameless as 114-breach verdict shakes Premier League

Andy Robertson has called for Manchester City’s players to be absolved of blame after an independent panel ruled the club breached Premier League financial regulations 114 times between 2009 and 2018.

The verdict, which emerged on Friday, found City guilty of rule violations across a nine-year period following charges first brought in 2023. The club, which has consistently denied any wrongdoing, is expected to appeal the decision and now faces a nervous wait for the punishment to be determined.

Robertson, who made 378 appearances for Liverpool before joining Tottenham Hotspur in the summer, addressed the ruling at Scotland’s pre-match press conference ahead of their Nations League fixture against Slovenia.

“I think you can hear the shock in my voice,” the left-back said. “The case has obviously been going on. For me, the [Man City] players showed they were good enough on the pitch. I don’t know too much about the charges. But they had an incredible team, one that I loved battling against. I don’t think when it comes to these things that players are ever to blame. That’s all I can focus on.”

The verdict carries particular weight for Robertson given his history with Liverpool. During his time at Anfield, the Reds finished as Premier League runners-up to City in both 2018-19 and 2021-22 — the latter by a single point — with the two clubs locked in one of the most intense title rivalries of the modern era.

Despite that personal context, Robertson was careful to separate the conduct of City’s players from the institutional findings against the club, a distinction that is likely to feature prominently in the wider debate as football digests the scale of the panel’s ruling.