MAN CITY HIT WITH TWO-YEAR EURO BAN
MANCHESTER CITY were last night banned from the Champions League for the next two seasons for ‘serious breaches’ of UEFA’s financial fair play regulations. The move sent shockwaves through football and may now see questions raised over the club’s recent domestic success. The reigning English champions were found to have circumvented FFP rules between 2012 and 2016 and have been fined £25million. Sources have suggested the Premier League may even consider imposing a points deduction. City won their first title in 2012 and their second in 2014, both within the time period that UEFA
adjudicated upon. However, the Premier League may well decide to wait for the outcome of an appeal that City have vowed to launch before deciding whether to take action of their own. Questions may also be raised over the future of manager Pep Guardiola, his players and potential signings.
Sportsmail understands that yesterday afternoon club officials contacted the former Barcelona and Bayern Munich boss and his players individually to make them aware of the coming announcement. City say they will appeal against the decision at the earliest opportunity via the Court of Arbitration for Sport. They accused UEFA of ‘initiating, prosecuting and judging’ the case and say they are not surprised at the outcome. UEFA launched a probe after documents published in German media suggested the club had falsely inflated sponsorship deals with firms linked to their Abu Dhabi ownership. Last night, UEFA announced their disciplinary body found City ‘committed serious breaches of FFA regulations by overstating sponsorship revenue in its accounts and in the break-even information submitted to UEFA between 2012 and 2016’. It added that City had failed to co-operate in the investigation.
City said they were ‘disappointed but not surprised’ by the announcement. They added: ‘The club has always anticipated the ultimate need to seek out an independent body and process to impartially consider the comprehensive body of irrefutable evidence in support of its position. ‘In December 2018, the UEFA chief investigator publicly previewed the outcome and sanction he intended to be delivered before any investigation had even begun. ‘The subsequent flawed and consistently leaked UEFA process he oversaw 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 as quickly as possible.’ La Liga boss Javier Tebas, an outspoken critic of City and their backers, tweeted last night: ‘UEFA is finally taking decisive action. Enforcing the rules of financial fair play & punishing financial doping is essential for the future of football... we finally have a good example of action.’ Should City’s ban stand, their Champions League place would go to the next highest-placed club in the Premier League. However, a CAS appeal may be ongoing when the next Champions League campaign kicks off, which may well see the club in the competition next season.