Lucy Powell Defends Manchester City Trophies Amid Financial Rule Breaches Labour deputy leader Lucy Powell says Manchester City's trophies are not tainted and backs the club to keep their titles despite financial rule breaches. Labour deputy leader Lucy Powell has insisted that Manchester City's trophies are not tainted and backed the club to keep their titles despite being found guilty of financial rule breaches. Powell, a City season ticket holder, made the comments on Monday at a Labour conference fringe event in Liverpool, hosted by Politico. Last week, Manchester City were found guilty on all but one of 115 charges laid by the Premier League in February 2023. The charges date back to the 2009-10 season, a year after a takeover of City by Abu Dhabi investors.Powell's Defence of City's SuccessPowell said the club's trophy wins in recent years were hard fought for and that she remained proud of the glut of silverware. Asked whether she would lobby Prime Minister Andy Burnham for City to keep those titles, she replied that they were hard fought for trophies which she is proud that they got.She added that she does not feel they are tainted at all. Powell, who is also Education Secretary, took a swipe at City's bitter rivals Manchester United in the wake of calls by ex-United manager Jose Mourinho for his former club to be awarded City's forfeited titles.Powell said that United were poor in those years and still are now, adding that she does not think it was United they would be going to. She acknowledged that United fans are gleeful this week but said they would have to try harder.Background on Manchester City ChargesManchester City have always strenuously denied the charges. The club's chairman, Khaldoon Al Mubarak, said at the weekend that his confidence and intent in proving the club's innocence is just as strong as when this began.But there have been calls for City to be stripped of the trophies they won during the period the charges relate to, if they lose an appeal against the rule breaches. The charges cover a period since the 2009-10 season, during which City have won multiple major trophies.Ex-City manager Pep Guardiola and club chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak are pictured celebrating a Premier League title win in 2018. The club's success on the pitch has been overshadowed by the ongoing financial rule breach proceedings.Political Reactions and Calls for CautionPowell's staunch defence of City's trophy wins contrasts with the response of both Burnham and other Cabinet ministers. The Prime Minister last week warned people should not jump to conclusions on City, when asked whether they should be stripped of their Premier League titles.He told ITV Granada Reports that he had only just been made aware of it and thought these were reports at this stage. But if they are confirmed, he said he would want to look at the report of the independent commission.He added that people should not jump to those kind of conclusions about City having their titles taken off them. He noted that it has been a long process between the club and the Premier League and quite a contested process, so he does not think it is as simple as jumping to conclusions.He said that everyone would need to study the independent commission's report in considerable detail before reaching any conclusions. Culture secretary Lisa Nandy told BBC Radio Five Live that there is a way to go with this and it is very unsettling for football fans, and she hopes it can be resolved as swiftly as possible.