Manchester City lodge appeal with Cas over Uefa’s FFP referral
Manchester City have appealed to the court of arbitration for sport (Cas) against the decision at Uefa to refer the club to a disciplinary body for alleged violation of financial fair play procedures.
City’s appeal follows the club’s furious reaction last month after the investigatory chamber of Uefa’s club financial control body (CFCB) referred the club to its adjudicatory chamber, which in effect means City have been accused of providing misleading information.
The CFCB’s chief investigator, Yves Leterme, sent City’s case, which is based on “leaked” emails published last year by the German magazine Der Spiegel, to the adjudicatory chamber for a decision following a two-month inquiry into the information provided by the club.
The club responded to the referral by claiming there had been “a basic lack of due process” and that Leterme had ignored “a comprehensive body of irrefutable evidence” that the club had not misled the CFCB with its FFP filings in 2014.
An investigatory chamber referral has been described as comparable to a prosecution, with a file of charges sent to the adjudicatory chamber, which comes to a final judgment and decides on a punishment. If City are found to have misled the CFCB and Uefa, the investigatory chamber is thought to have recommended that the club should be banned from the Champions League for at least a season.
The internal emails and other documents published by Der Spiegel suggested that sponsorship money stated to have come from companies in Abu Dhabi, including the state airline Etihad, in 2012 and 2013 was in fact provided by the club’s owner, Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed al-Nahyan of the country’s ruling family.
City have adamantly denied the allegations and said the emails were hacked or stolen and their contents taken out of context. But Leterme, who is advised by six investigatory chamber members drawn from around Europe with a range of professional expertise, is clearly not convinced.
Appeals to Cas, which are an agreed alternative to court actions between sports participants, including clubs and governing bodies, are normally made after an adjudicatory chamber decision, but City have appealed against the basis of the referral itself.
Cas, in its statement, confirmed it had received City’s appeal against Uefa, “against decisions taken by the investigatory chamber of the CFCB regarding MCFC’s alleged non-compliance with Uefa’s club licensing and fair play regulations.”