UEFA look for one-year ban

headquarters concluded with a desire to seek at least a one-season ban. The investigatory panel’s leader, former Belgian prime minister Yves Leterme, has the final say on any submission made to a separate adjudicatory chamber. A conclusion is unlikely to be reached before the start of the next Champions League when City, who deny any wrongdoing, would almost certainly appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport. ‘The accusation of financial irregularities is entirely false,’ City said in a statement earlier this year. ‘The club’s published accounts are full and complete and a matter of legal record.’ In December, Sportsmail reported that City are facing a ban from Europe’s most prestigious competition amid claims they inflated sponsorship deals seemingly to beat UEFA’s FFP system. Among the reports, based on documents seized by Football Leaks, was a claim City’s holding company paid £59.5million of Etihad’s annual sponsorship deal, with only £8m coming from the airline.