Australian Professional League (APL) chief executive Steve Rosich on Wednesday wouldn't be drawn on the English Premier League giants, who were found guilty overnight of unprecedented financial breaches.
Manchester City were found to have engaged in an $A1.7 billion scheme to either inflate revenues or reduce costs through a series of "sham" arrangements in order to avoid breaching league and UEFA financial regulations.
Premier League chief executive Richard Masters described the case, and the decision, as "the most significant in Premier League history", with the league's investigation having started back in 2018.
City have maintained their innocence, saying they are "disappointed and surprised" by the findings.
A-Leagues team Melbourne City has been owned by City Football Group since 2014, with the club's vice-chairman Simon Pearce sitting on the board of directors for Manchester City.Â
Rosich said the APL - who operate the domestic men and women competitions - has never investigated Melbourne City regarding their financial matters.
He would not comment directly on the Premier League findings, but was adamant City Football Group's involvement in the A-Leagues would not impact the reputation of the Australian competition.
"The report was redacted, and there is further work to follow and findings to follow in the legal process, so we'll consider that," Rosich said in Sydney on Wednesday.
"The international football economy is intertwined, so all parties will be reviewing that."
Rosich said he had not spoken to Pearce on Wednesday.
Angst around Manchester City comes as the A-Leagues scramble to resolve an industrial dispute with the country's top referees.
Nearly 100 of Australia's best referees have been on strike since September 4 after Football Australia (FA) proposed a structure where referees would be contracted not to the sport's national governing body, but directly to the APL.
Rosich was confident the dispute would be resolved in time for the season-opening Sydney derby on October 16 at Allianz Stadium.
"Absolutely. Conversations are ongoing," he said.
"We've become even more engaged with FA to assist in that process.
"Based on where I'm seeing those discussions as recently as yesterday, and they'll be on again today, I'm very confident we'll be ready to go for match week one."
Asked if the APL had a contingency plan, Rosich said: "Not required. We'll get to it."
The APL has also yet to strike a new collective bargaining agreement after two offers were voted down by players in July.
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