ALFIE HAALAND has broken his silence on Manchester City’s financial breaches.
The Norwegian, 53, is the father of City star Erling Haaland, who has been playing under the cloud of the charges since the club’s guilty verdict was handed down in September.
And now he has finally given an update on how he and his son are handling the decision, and the prospect of severe penalties that could even include a relegation to the Championship.
When asked about his reaction to the verdict, Haaland told Viaplay: “Well, it has been circulating for quite a while, hasn’t it?
“So finally something came that was concrete, which it is possible to fight against for City as a club.
“Obviously, these are serious allegations, but now there is an appeal case pending to be heard, so I think we have to stay calm, keep our cool, and wait to see how it turns out.”
When prompted about what his son thinks about the club’s situation, he played down the impact of the crisis.
Haaland continued: “Erling thinks about playing as much football as he can and concentrates on that. I think it’s more those of us outside the pitch who think a bit more about it.”
Haaland’s scoring form would suggest he has not been too rattled by the developments, bagging nine goals in as many games so far in the league alone.
But there is no secret information helping him keep his cool, with the father-son duo apparently as in the dark on City’s appeal as the rest of the footballing world.
When asked is he had been told any further details, Haaland explained: “Nothing more than what’s in the media. And there is an awful lot written there, and very one-sided, I would say, right?
“Because it’s hard for Manchester City to come out right now — with an ongoing appeal — and defend themselves.
“So we hope they get a fair hearing, and then we’ll see if they manage to prove that they are innocent, eventually.”
Haaland, who made 38 league appearances for City himself between 2000 and 2003, praised the focus and conduct of City’s stars as they contest a title race and the appeal at the same time.
He added: “Now we just have to wait and see. I think they’ve done more than well to stand tall through this, because of course they have faced plenty of accusations. So I feel the player group has handled it very well.
“We also have to remember that these are things that allegedly happened quite a few years ago. The players today had nothing to do with it. So they’ve played well.
They lost their last match, so it’s time to get back to winning ways.
When asked if he felt punishing the current crop of stars — including his son — was unfair, he admitted: “Yes, in a way, one might feel that having to potentially take punishment for something done many years ago… yes, I would say so.
Haaland was even confronted by the prospect of City’s relegation, and what Erling might do should such a drastic measure come to pass.
But he did not seem convinced that such a heavy sentence would be handed down, and waved away comparisons to Juventus being dropped to Serie B as a result of the Calciopoli scandal in 2006. —Sun.
