CITY GET TWO-YEAR EURO BAN
Stunned Blues also fined £25m over finance breaches but vow to fight ‘flawed’ UEFA probe
MANCHESTER CITY have vowed to take independent legal action after UEFA hit them with a two-year ban from the Champions League.
City, who branded UEFA’s investigation “flawed” and “prejudicial” in a statement last night, were also fined £25million by European football’s governing body after “serious” breaches of Financial Fair
Play regulations. It means the club will not play in the Champions League again until 2022 – which could result in them losing boss Pep Guardiola and a host of stars. Big names such as Sergio Aguero, Kevin De Bruyne and Raheem Sterling, left, could
decide to move to clubs that can offer them Champions League football.
The club, found guilty of falsely inflating sponsorship deals to meet FFP rules, will launch an appeal with the Court of Arbitration for Sport in a bid to get the decision overturned. They made £86million last season from the Champions League alone.
La Liga president Javier Tebas has already welcomed the news, saying: “UEFA is finally taking decisive action. Punishing financial doping is essential for the future of football. For years we have been calling for severe action against Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain.”
A statement from City, read: “In December 2018, the UEFA chief investigator publicly previewed the outcome and sanction he intended to be delivered, before any investigation had begun. The subsequent flawed and consistently leaked UEFA process has meant that there was little doubt in the result that he would deliver.
“With this prejudicial process now over, the club will pursue an impartial judgment and commence proceedings with the Court of Arbitration for Sport.”
UEFA’s decision means fifth place in the Premier League, currently occupied by Sheffield United, is likely to qualify for next season’s Champions League.