City’s appeal against financial probe thrown out

Manchester City’s attempt to halt a UEFA investigation into allegations that the club breached financial fair play regulations has failed after its appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) was thrown out.

CAS general secretary Matthieu Reeb told reporters that the Premier League champions’ appeal, made in June, had been judged inadmissible.

UEFA had opened an investigation into City over potential breaches of its breakeven rule in March after German publication Der Spiegel reported the club’s Abu Dhabi owners inflated sponsorship agreements to comply with requirements.

In May, UEFA investigators referred the case to the Club Financial Control board’s judicial body for possible sanctions.

City appealed in June against that decision, saying at the time that UEFA investigators had ignored “a comprehensive body of irrefutable evidence provided by Manchester City”.

The club have said that the accusation of financial irregularities “remains entirely false” and they are confident of a positive outcome.

Financial Fair Play rules are intended to prevent clubs receiving unlimited amounts of money through rich owners and inflated sponsorship deals.

Clubs who have breached the rules can ultimately be barred from European competition, but negotiated settlements are more common. Seven-times European champions AC Milan became the biggest club to be banned when they were barred from this season’s Europa League for overspending.