City will play in Champions League after ban overturned
MANCHESTER CITY have been cleared to play in next season’s Champions League by the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
Pep Guardiola’s City were handed a two-year ban from European competition in February after UEFA’s club financial control body (CFCB) found they had breached club licensing and Financial Fair Play (FFP) regulations.
The CFCB said they had overstated sponsorship revenue in their accounts and in the breakeven information submitted to UEFA for the period between 2012 and 2016.
However, CAS lifted the suspension on Monday, as it found City had not disguised equity funding as sponsorship and that most of the allegations against them were “either not established or were time-barred”.
It did find they had breached Article 56 of the club licensing and FFP regulations by failing to co-operate with the CFCB’s investigation. The club’s initial 30 million euro fine imposed by the CFCB was reduced to 10m euros ( just under £9m) by CAS.
City welcomed the news as a “validation” of their position, while UEFA said that it and the European Club Association remain committed to the principles of FFP.
The system is intended to ensure clubs only spend what they earn, to ensure their long-term viability.
City, whose appeal to CAS was heard over three days last month, issued a statement after welcoming “the implications” of the ruling.
The statement read: “Whilst Manchester City and its legal advisors are yet to review the full ruling by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), the club welcomes the implications of today’s ruling as a validation of the club’s position and the body of evidence that it was able to present.
“The club wishes to thank the panel members for their diligence and the due process that they administered.”