Manchester City have appealed after being found guilty of the vast majority of the Premier League’s charges

Régis Le Bris says it is imperative the Premier League protect the competition if Manchester City's guilty verdict is upheld.

Over the course of the international break it was confirmed that an independent commission had found the club guilty of all charges related to serious breaches of the Premier League’s financial rules over a nine-season period, and the majority of charges in relation to its failure to co-operate with the League’s investigation. Manchester City continue to maintain their innocence and have launched an appeal to challenge the verdict.

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The findings have sent shockwaves through English football and though Le Bris said he could not comment on the specifics of the case, he said it was vital the principle of a level playing field was protected.

"There are still ongoing legal proceedings so it’s not for me to comment on that," he said.

“My position is simple: football has rules on and off the pitch and you have to respect those rules. When they are broken, you should have consequences otherwise it’s not fair, and we want fair competition, we want fair play. So the relevant authorities have to be relentless, otherwise you lose the value of your competition.

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"[This is the feeling behind the scenes here] Even it is hard to understand exactly what the charges are as it happened ten years ago, more or less. We were not here in Sunderland, for example. But it is about respecting rules, so it’s key because if you don’t have fair competition it’s a bit weird. That’s more or less the feeling we have in the building."

Manchester City are back in action against Liverpool on Sunday afternoon.

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