England captain Harry Kane reacts to Manchester City guilty verdict

Harry Kane after England beat Czech Republic (Picture: Getty)

Harry Kane says he only found out about Manchester City’s guilty verdict after England’s Nations League win over Czech Republic.

The Premier League confirmed on Tuesday afternoon, a few hours before England’s clash in Prague, that Man City have been found guilty of all charges related to breaches of financial rules.

An independent commission found that Manchester City ‘relied on sham agreements to artificially inflate the club’s revenues and reduce its costs’ in the period between 2009 and 2018.

Man City immediately issued a statement of their own maintaining their innocence ahead of a likely appeal which must be submitted before October 2.

But the Premier League said the conversation around sanctions will be addressed ‘in a further hearing with the independent commission’, with expulsion from the division believed to be a possible punishment.

Manchester City’s Elliot Anderson and Marc Guehi both started England’s Nations League win over Czech Republic just hours after their club’s guilty verdict was confirmed.

Asked whether the subject was discussed in the England camp, Three Lions captain Kane said: ‘To be honest today I didn’t even know the news literally until after the game. I’ve been off my phone all day.

Man City chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak and ex-manager Pep Guardiola (Picture: Reuters)

‘I can’t comment on it now. I’m sure in the next days it will be spoken about in a casual way. I always say when we’re here we’re with England.

‘We have our England head on and those guys [Elliot Anderson and Marc Guehi] will deal with it obviously when they are back. From our point of view it is all about Croatia on Saturday.’

England boss Thomas Tuchel, meanwhile, confirmed he had not spoken with Anderson or Guehi about Man City’s charges.

England beat Czech Republic in the Nations League (Picture: Getty)

Asked whether he had to ‘look after’ the pair given the extraordinary circumstances, Tuchel said: ‘I did not. I have a bad conscience now.

‘I did not actually because I am just focused on everything we have to deal with here and to prepare the team. I did not talk to them about the issue and I will not comment on it.

‘I think Marc today was absolutely excellent after a tough match against Spain. The reaction was on the highest level and Elliot Anderson had a good match as well.’

🗣️ "It's always strange to get an early red card…but we got an important win" 🦁Thomas Tuchel after England's 2-0 win vs. Czech Republic that puts them second in Group 3 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿#ITVFootball | @gabrielclarke05 | @England pic.twitter.com/YT9kLJOuQt— ITV Football (@itvfootball) September 29, 2026

England were beaten by World Cup holders Spain in their Nations League opener but responded with a comfortable 2-0 win over Czech Republic.

Tuchel’s side played the majority of the game with a numerical advantage after Pavel Sulc was sent off following a VAR review for a late tackle on Anderson.

Barcelona’s Anthony Gordon broke the Czech’s resistance with a goal straight after half-time before Kane put the game to bed with a 69th-minute strike.

On England’s performance, Kane added: ‘Job done, it was a professional performance.

‘It wasn’t the most exciting game of football but we did what we had to. Won the game, good clean sheet and we take it into the next one.’