City to appeal unsurprising two-year Champions League ban
Staff Reporter
Manchester City say they are disappointed but not surprised by an announcement by the Uefa Adjudicatory Chamber yesterday that the Premier League powerhouse club has been banned from participation in the Uefa Champions League for the next two seasons.
They have also been fined €30 million for what the adjudicatory chamber calls “serious breaches of the Uefa club licensing and financial fair play regulations”.
Manchester City said in a statement: “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 to Manchester City, 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. “The club has formally complained to the Uefa disciplinary body, a complaint which was validated by a Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) ruling.
“Simply put, this is a case initiated by Uefa, prosecuted by Uefa and judged by Uefa. With this prejudicial process now over, the club will pursue an impartial judgment as quickly as possible and will therefore, in the first instance, commence proceedings with the Court of Arbitration for Sport at the earliest opportunity.”
The investigation into Manchester City’s compliance with financial fair play regulations has been going on for years, and the club has been accused of misrepresenting the value of sponsorship deals that, according to the club, offset the organisation’s massive spending to attract an all-star roster of the best talent in the world. In 2018, German publication Der Spiegel published documents that suggested owner Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan was funding sponsorship deals for the club, leading the Club Financial Control Body to investigate. -additional reporting by usatoday.com
Manchester City say they are disappointed but not surprised by an announcement by the Uefa Adjudicatory Chamber yesterday that the Premier League powerhouse club has been banned from participation in the Uefa Champions League for the next two seasons.
They have also been fined €30 million for what the adjudicatory chamber calls “serious breaches of the Uefa club licensing and financial fair play regulations”.
Manchester City said in a statement: “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 to Manchester City, 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. “The club has formally complained to the Uefa disciplinary body, a complaint which was validated by a Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) ruling.
“Simply put, this is a case initiated by Uefa, prosecuted by Uefa and judged by Uefa. With this prejudicial process now over, the club will pursue an impartial judgment as quickly as possible and will therefore, in the first instance, commence proceedings with the Court of Arbitration for Sport at the earliest opportunity.”
The investigation into Manchester City’s compliance with financial fair play regulations has been going on for years, and the club has been accused of misrepresenting the value of sponsorship deals that, according to the club, offset the organisation’s massive spending to attract an all-star roster of the best talent in the world. In 2018, German publication Der Spiegel published documents that suggested owner Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan was funding sponsorship deals for the club, leading the Club Financial Control Body to investigate. -additional reporting by usatoday.com
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