Tottenham chief Daniel Levy said the investigation into the alleged financial violations of Manchester City lasted “far too long” and must be resolved quickly “for the good of the game”.
In February 2023, City was charged by the Premier League of more than 100 alleged violations of the financial rules of the League dating from 2009.
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A hearing in the case against the Etihad Club – which denies any reprehensible act – took place from September to December from last year, the verdict still expected and perhaps expected later this year.
In a large interview with Gary Neville for OverlapLevy was invited to his point of view on the situation and insisted that it would be “really unfair to me” to talk about another Premier League club.
The president of the Spurs added: “But, the process lasted too long and must bring, for the good of the game, to the conclusion.”
City belongs to City Football Group (CFG) with the Liga Side Girona, the major of the New York City FC football leagues and several other clubs around the world, in a multi-club property configuration like Levy fears can be used to “abuse” existing football control measures.
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CFG, in turn, belongs to the majority belonging to Abu Dhabi United Group, which is led by Sheikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, member of the royal family of Abu Dhabi and vice-president of the United Arab Emirates.
Discussing his point of view according to which the related sponsorships of the parties are one of the “greatest threats” for football, Levy said: “It is one of the areas that must be controlled; If you end up having clubs held by states, I have no problem with this in principle, but that they can make agreements with themselves and which puts them to a very competitive advantage compared to all the others.
“It is an area of concern.”
He added: “I think there should be a European rule according to which there should be a more detailed control over the transactions of the related parts.”
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It is in the context of an independent football regulator approved for the implementation later this year, in order to supervise the five best levels of the professional male game in England and to hold powers to ensure that clubs are managed in a financially sustainable manner.
This particular development is something that Levy is “not in favor”, but the president of the Spurs conceded that “it happens, so we have to adopt it”.
Describing the Premier League as “one of the best exports of Great Britain”, Levy said that he worried the evolutionary costs of the spiral government’s intervention and that a arbiter will not benefit fans insofar as the supporters say that this will do with affordability and accessibility.
“Let’s go back here in 10 years and see if these are the real costs,” he said, explaining that he would have preferred if the football association (FA) was the body that intensified to take a “stronger lead to bring together football”.
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“I just am not in favor of government regulations, and I think there were other ways to solve the problem,” said Levy. “In fact, many problems that, in theory, regulation was going to cover, we are already doing.”
Daniel Levy spoke about overlap, brought by you by Sky bet
