It’s all tainted now
A disgraceful episode in so many ways The verdict against Manchester City changes everything we understood about their era Arguably everyone who bought a Sky subscription in that period now has a claim against City 26 Sep 2026 - THE GUARDIAN / Sport By Barney Ronay Welcome, then, to the age of asterisk. Whatever punishment Manchester City and their owners receive at the end of this process, the fact remains, everything is tainted now. Overturn the tables, scatter the gold coins. Throw your medals in the bin. You cheated to win them. Whatever that thing was, it’s done. Stolen glory, stolen income, stolen joy. Every chant, every “we won the lot”, every awkward documentary scene about the deep, throbbing heart of this empire of love. It all looks odd, sinister, cold, sloppy, but also, and this is always the best response, utterly absurd. This is not over of course. We still work on the principle of innocent until repeatedly proven guilty, pending mega-bucks final appeals. There could yet ...