Ian Holloway calls Manchester City a disgrace and demands exile

Former Blackpool manager Ian Holloway, now in charge of League Two side Swindon Town, launched a six‑minute tirade after being asked about Manchester City’s guilty finding for breaching the Premier League’s financial rules, urging that the club be expelled from both the Premier League and the EFL.

Holloway demands EFL expulsion

At 63 years old, Holloway told reporters that the decision‑makers should not only remove City from the top flight but also ban them from the English Football League altogether. He stressed that the punishment should match the seriousness of the 114 rule breaches uncovered over a nine‑year period.

The former Blackpool boss managed the seaside club in the top division for a single season, which fell within the same nine‑year window during which City were found to have broken the rules. His experience of that era fuels his conviction that the current sanctions are insufficient.

When asked ahead of Swindon’s home game against Crewe Alexandra on Saturday whether he felt “robbed” in the 2010‑11 campaign, Holloway replied: “To be honest with you, in that whole season, I felt robbed. My team played so well against Man City. We scored three perfectly good goals. We had one disallowed for being offside, and they scored two. One was not a foul, and the other one was offside.”

Family moments and personal grievances

Holloway added that he does not believe former manager Pep Guardiola was involved, but he wants City’s owners to “get lost” and the club sent to non‑league football. He also spoke of his granddaughters, Luna, aged eight, and Remy, aged six, celebrating their first goals and reminding him why he loves the game.

He condemned the wealth‑driven distortion of football, saying the sport is being ruined by rich people who think they can do “God knows what they want to it”. He questioned how a club with a 2,000‑seat gate can afford the wages of clubs like Salford, and compared the situation to Wrexham’s spending.

Holloway called for stronger regulations, insisting that clubs be tested and closely monitored to prevent loopholes. He argued that the game belongs to everyone, rich or poor, and should not be turned into a purely commercial enterprise.

While Manchester City deny the charges and have appealed, Holloway’s impassioned appeal adds public pressure on the authorities to consider harsher action, echoing his belief that the club’s conduct has seriously dented football.