Pep Guardiola, the manager of Manchester City, believes that the club's detractors desire its complete eradication "from the face of the Earth" due to the alleged violations of financial regulations.
The Premier League champions, who have been a dominant force in English football since Guardiola took charge in 2016, could face severe consequences if found guilty of any or all of the 115 charges brought against them by the league in February 2023.
These potential punishments include a substantial points deduction or even expulsion from the league.
The long-anticipated hearing regarding the charges commenced earlier this week. Guardiola has previously asserted that some of City's rivals are hoping for a guilty verdict, and he seems convinced that they would expect the punishment to be harsh.
He raised the issue unprompted before the upcoming match against Arsenal at the Etihad Stadium, while discussing the tendency of people to excessively criticize isolated poor performances.
"During a season, you can say, 'Oh, it was a bad season'," said Guardiola. "But for performances some people say, 'Oh, it's a disgrace, it is a disaster, it's unacceptable'. No, during 90 minutes it's one bad afternoon when they were better.
"But I would say - I'm sorry, I want to defend my club, especially in these modern days when everyone is expecting us not to be relegated, to be disappeared off the face of the Earth, the world - that we have better afternoons than the opponents. That's why we win a lot."
Manchester City has been accused of violating financial regulations on 80 occasions from 2009 to 2018. Additionally, the club allegedly failed to cooperate with a Premier League investigation 35 times.
The allegations against the club include not submitting precise financial data, such as income from sponsorships and information about the salaries of players and managers.
The club maintains its innocence and disputes the claims made against them.
