With the FA’s anti-doping allegations against Manchester City, it’s hard not to see entrenched bias against the club.
Yesterday, the FA accused Manchester City of its third anti-doping violation in the last year. Apparently, a price now must be paid in what’s likely a fine.
FA bureaucrats will come to extract their pound of flesh straight from the cow hide-lined wallet of City. And because the club has such deep pockets, there’s speculation the standard £25,000 penalty will be increased.
And that’s just typical. No longer granted the benefit of the doubt, the Blue side of Manchester is starting to be despised by the rest of the footballing world over the last decade. And for what? Simply, aspiring for greatness.
It’s hard not to see that this prejudice against City exists: The wonky FA Cup scheduling for a fixture against Chelsea before Champions League play; the “unbelievable” mandate that City play 25 hours later than Real Madrid prior to the second leg of their UCL semifinal; the punitive Financial Fair Play measures in 2014, of which the spoils of £49 million were divided amongst other UCL competitors; the slap-of-the-wrist £20,000 fine for the demeaning racism then-City striker Mario Ballotelli experienced at Porto; the unequal treatment in favor of guilty CSKA Moscow fans as opposed to City’s well-behaved faithful.
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This time around City apparently is culpable for not informing FA anti-doping agents of the movements of the club’s footballers on three separate occasions. City will object on the grounds that this is the FA’s fault and not wrongdoing on its part. Whether the Blues are guilty or not, doesn’t so much matter — the club’s already been found guilty in the kangaroo court of the powers that be.
That’s why I expect an example to be made out of City, although player suspension and a docking of points is apparently not under consideration. City is one of everybody’s favorite rich upstarts to hate.
Playing for 90
Never mind Chelsea, a club that, since 2003, gets a yearly infusion of oil money from billionaire Roman Abramovich, who reportedly is quite chummy with Vladimir Putin. On top of literal cavorting with the devil, consider the lovely collection of mercenaries and ne’er-do-wells courted and retained via the club’s affluent benefactor: Winning personalities like Ashley Cole, John Terry, Thibaut Courtois, Diego Costa, the grossly overrated Eden Hazard (seriously, nowhere is he as multi-dimensional or dominant in his play to be considered Lionel Messi’s and Cristiano Ronaldo’s heir apparent) and Jose Mourinho, twice.
Fine, hate City because of its money and newfound success, but if there is one club that’s evil incarnate, it’s Chelsea. And it would be nice if football’s institutions took notice and acted accordingly. For instance, cracking down on the ruffian Costa would be welcome instead of reserving the nuclear option for City because of alleged anti-doping violations that could just be a misunderstanding.
Otherwise, it’s difficult not to feel jaded when City is treated as the villain, especially given the Premier League’s clearly biggest evil-doer sports a different shade of blue.
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