Neville and Carra: ‘Stain’ hangs over Man City until financial charges resolved

Gary Neville and Jamie Carragher say a ‘stain’ hangs over Man City until their financial charges are resolved, despite their win over Liverpool taking them top of the Premier League; Man City beat Liverpool 3-0 at Anfield in their first game since guilty veredict

Monday 12 October 2026 12:17, UK

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Gary Neville and Jamie Carragher say the Manchester City owners must go following the club being found guilty of all charges related to serious breaches of Premier League financial rules. Watch the Gary Neville Podcast on Sky Sports platforms

Gary Neville and Jamie Carragher have warned that a ‘stain’ will continue to hang over Manchester City and the Premier League until the club’s financial charges are finally resolved.

City's victory at Liverpool on Sunday, which hinged on Ryan Gravenberch's controversial dismissal, took them back to the top of the Premier League.

But the win was inevitably overshadowed after the independent Premier League commission found Manchester City in breach of the Premier League's financial rules - City have denied wrongdoing and have lodged an appeal - with Sky Sports commentator Peter Drury describing the game as "the most peculiar day in Premier League history".

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"We're sat here not knowing what it means," reflected Gary Neville. "City supporters will be delighted [with the win], but I don't think they recognise right now the stain, the stigma and the damage this is going to do to them.

"Liverpool fans are singing 'going down', they're shouting 'cheats' and you can't get away from that."

Jamie Carragher says the country's feelings towards Manchester City will only grow unless the case is swiftly resolved. Listen to the Gary Neville podcast in full on Sky Sports platforms

Jamie Carragher added: "In some ways, the feeling around Manchester City will only grow the more they win. It will keep growing and growing around the country. We need a resolution as soon as possible. We're watching a game today, but what does it actually mean?"

'Cheat' banners were unfurled by both sets of fans, with every touch by a City player greeted by a chant of 'cheat' in the final minutes.

"There was a banner over in that far corner which I thought was devastating - 'A generation of supporters have been cheated'. I thought you know, that will be the mood around the country, that for 10-15 years they've been cheated," said Neville on his podcast.

"We should be absolutely eulogising over a performance like that, where they've come through and withstood a really difficult opening spell - which is always the case here at Anfield - and then gone on to come out on top.

Roy Keane shares his thoughts on Manchester City following the club being found guilty of all charges related to serious breaches of Premier League financial rules by an independent commission; City have lodged their appeal against the verdict

"But there's a 'but', isn't there? And we're sat here not knowing what this means.

"We know that Manchester City go three points clear at the top of the league but there's a feeling that ultimately this is not going to be where Manchester City finish.

"It does feel different. There is a 'but', there is a sort of shadow hanging over it - there's a dark cloud that you know has got a load of rain in it, and a massive storm, and you just don't know when it's going to burst but you know it's coming."

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