The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Man City begin fight against Uefa ban
Manchester City will set out their case to overturn a two-season Champions League ban from today.
The Premier League champions were sanctioned by the adjudicatory chamber of Uefa’s club financial control body (CFCB) in February for a breach of financial fair play (FFP) regulations, with the ban accompanied by a fine of €30 million (just under £27m).
The CFCB concluded City had committed a “serious” breach of club licensing and FFP rules by “overstating its sponsorship revenue in its accounts and in the break-even information submitted to Uefa between 2012 and 2016”, adding that the club “failed to co-operate in the investigation”.
City immediately indicated their intention to appeal against what they said was a “flawed and consistently leaked process”, and the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) will now hear their appeal between today and Wednesday.
The investigation followed claims in German magazine Der Spiegel, based on leaked documents, that City’s owner Sheikh Mansour was topping up the value of sponsorship agreements, in breach of FFP rules.
City denied the magazine’s claims. The club and Uefa will both be hoping for a swift outcome at CAS, in order to give clarity to who will represent England in the 2020-21 Champions League. It is unlikely a judgment will be handed down until July at the earliest.
The club sought to have the FFP investigation halted while it was in progress, but CAS ruled in November last year that appeal was “inadmissible” because at that stage the CFCB had not determined what, if any, sanctions City should face.
City argued in that initial appeal, in court documents released earlier this year, the decision of the CFCB’s investigatory chamber to refer the case to the adjudicatory chamber had been taken “improperly and prematurely”.
They also said Uefa had breached confidentiality during the probe, alleging journalists were being briefed by people with knowledge of the case.
CAS did find that City’s appeal was “not without merit” and that the alleged leaks were “worrisome”.