IT MUST BE BUSINESS AS USUAL FOR BLUES
THERE may be no love for City inside UEFA’s headquarters but Nyon could see a baby boom in about nine months after that dramatic Valentine’s Day verdict.
A two-year ban from the Champions League (and all European competitions) was a body blow for one of the continent’s leading clubs that have made no secret of their desire to win the prize that has never come close to their trophy cabinet, and the reaction that has followed has been brutal.
The Blues have been torn apart in the commentary of the decision and having both their strategy and the way they have gone about it blasted.
It takes some spectacular bias to paint City as the good guys in all of this.
Whatever your views on Financial Fair Play, City have signed up to rules that they have now been judged to be broken and the club’s public response for some time has been aggressive, seething points delivered with an icy fury that have unsurprisingly brought as much scorn as sympathy and significantly contributed to the siege that is now being played out between supporters and critics.
Equally though, UEFA have done exceedingly well out of the past few days.
Much has been written about potential consequences regarding players, Pep Guardiola, and finances but largely lost from the narrative is that this is a verdict that could yet be overturned – City remain confident that an independent hearing will clear them as they plan to return to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), and the Premier League have been advising caution in relation to any domestic caution because of the appeal process.
What happens if City don’t get banned?
That would not mean that they should instantly be seen as righteous if any decision is overturned – although can any top club claim to be that in this murky world? – but should at least touch the balance more towards the other party in this bitter dispute.
Could City expect all the guns currently pointed in their direction to swivel round to Switzerland?
Friday’s announcement from UEFA has undoubtedly done what City have been arguing for more than a year about – damage their reputation.
Read the CAS report from November and you will find the same excoriating tone from UEFA investigations chief Yves Leterme. “Your allegations are groundless in the merits and unacceptable in tone,” from a man who said he wouldn’t respond further is showing the same disrespect that City are being hauled over the coals for at the moment. Especially when you consider the CAS panel declared the leaks as ‘worrisome’ and questioned how Leterme could be so confident. Dismissing the case, it concluded: “This is not to say that the leaks, if existent, did not cause damage to MCFC.
“It merely means that no irreparable harm has occurred at this stage of the CFCB proceedings such that an exception is warranted to the general rule that internal legal remedies must be exhausted prior to an appeal to CAS, i.e. MCFC should first turn to the Adjudicatory Chamber for relief before appealing to CAS.”
Except now the punishment has arrived, and as a result all fire has turned on City as celebrations go mainly unnoticed in Nyon.
With one press release, UEFA have managed to claw back some respect for its controversial FFP baby, please the clubs that it is always under pressure to satisfy, and focus all negative attention on a club that must be treated as a direct opponent for as long as this case goes on.
Even if City successfully overturn Friday’s verdict, they are going to find it incredibly hard to overcome the damage of the last few days and that, unfortunately for the Blues, may ultimately be a more successful victory for UEFA than any court ruling.
Could City expect all the guns pointed in their direction to swivel round to Switzerland?