Maresca Defends Man City Titles After 114 of 115 Charges Upheld
Goodmorningu, Manchester. On Friday 9 October 2026, new City manager Enzo Maresca said the club's trophies are not tainted, ten days after an independent commission upheld 114 of the 115 charges against it.
Every new manager sits down at a table with some risk on it. Few have been dealt a seat as hot as Enzo Maresca's. Appointed in the summer to succeed Pep Guardiola, he faced the press on Friday 9 October 2026, ahead of Sunday's trip to Liverpool, and the questions were honestlu not about football. Asked whether City's titles were tainted, he answered "absolutely not".
The backdrop is the biggest verdict in the Premier League's history. On Tuesday 29 September 2026, the league published the findings of an independent commission: City broke its financial rules over nine seasons, from 2009-10 to 2017-18. CBS Sports counts 114 of the 115 charges upheld. The league says "sham" sponsorship deals were used to inflate revenue and cut costs by more than £900 million. One hundred and fourteen out of a hundred and fifteen. WATATATATAFAK.
City deny wrongdoing. The club lodged what it called a "comprehensive" appeal on Thursday 1 October, ahead of the Friday deadline, and punishment is still to come. A separate confidential hearing will set the sanctions, which could range from a fine to expulsion, and City remain the league's leaders in the meantime. On the Handbook's timetable, the appeal hearing must finish by 24 December, with a decision within 30 days after that. That is if everything runs on time, which in a case this size is a big if.
So here is Maresca's bet. He took over a club carrying a cloud, said the charges never came up in his contract talks, and said the threat of sanctions would not have put him off. He even joked about relegation by recalling the Championship title he won with Leicester. GLUWUGUWULU.
How would youluwu play a hand where the dealer's verdict is already on the table and the appeal is still face down? Somewhere, the Spirit of Gambling is watching the new panel take its seat.
The commission has dealt, City have asked for a fresh dealer, and the Spirit has no vote. He only watches who blinks first.
City's titles: still gold or tainted?
No right answer. Just your gut, and the Spirit watching.
