cooponthewing 1,139 Posted February 14, 2020 Share Posted February 14, 2020 Manchester City have been banned from European club competition for the next two seasons after being found to have committed "serious breaches" of Uefa's club licensing and financial fair play regulations. The reigning Premier League champions have also been fined 30m euros (£25m). The decision is subject to appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport. Manchester City say they are "disappointed but not surprised" by the "prejudicial" decision and will appeal. The independent Adjudicatory Chamber of the Club Financial Control Body (CFCB) said City had broken the rules by "overstating its sponsorship revenue in its accounts and in the break-even information submitted to Uefa between 2012 and 2016", adding that the club "failed to cooperate in the investigation". It has been reported that City could also face a Premier League points deduction because the league's FFP rules are similar - although not exactly the same - as Uefa's. 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 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." City have been drawn to face Real Madrid in the last 16 of this season's Champions League, with the first leg to be played on 26 February at the Bernabeu. La Liga President Javier Tebas praised Uefa for "finally taking decisive action". "Enforcing the rules of financial fair play and punishing financial doping is essential for the future of football," he said. "For years we have been calling for severe action against Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain, we finally have a good example of action and hope to see more. Better late than never." This is massive news. Given the speed of their statement in response, it is fair to assume Manchester City were braced for this decision, but maybe not the severity of it. City have said publicly and privately they intend to fight the decision. They are adamant an independent judiciary - they do not think this was - will clear them. However, as it stands, the club are out of the Champions League for two seasons, which raises massive immediate questions. Pep Guardiola has always maintained he would remain at City at least until his contract expires in 2021 but has also said he trusts the club's hierarchy when they tell him they have done nothing wrong. Whether they win the Champions League this season or not, will Guardiola decide to move on? And if he does, what about the future of the club's star players, many of whom joined because he was the manager. And does this mean an extra place in the Champions League will be available should the Blues miss out? It is an absolutely fascinating situation and, clearly, we are far from a definitive final outcome. What are City alleged to have done? Uefa launched an investigation after German newspaper Der Spiegel published leaked documents in November 2018 alleging City had inflated the value of a sponsorship deal, misleading European football's governing body. Reports alleged City - who have always denied wrongdoing - deliberately misled Uefa so they could meet FFP rules requiring clubs to break even. City were fined £49m in 2014 for a previous breach of regulations. What are the FFP rules? Financial Fair Play was introduced by Uefa to prevent clubs in its competitions from spending beyond their means and stamp out what its then president Michel Platini called "financial doping" within football. Under the rules, financial losses are limited and clubs are also obliged to meet all their transfer and employee payment commitments at all times. Clubs need to balance football-related expenditure - transfers and wages - with television and ticket income, plus revenues raised by their commercial departments. Money spent on stadiums, training facilities, youth development or community projects is exempt. The CFCB, set up by Uefa, has the ultimate sanction of banning clubs from Uefa competitions, with other potential punishments including warnings, fines, withholding prize money, transfer bans, points deductions, a ban on registration of new players and a restriction on the number of players who can be registered for Uefa competitions. https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/51510284 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Franc Ergs 1,349 Posted February 14, 2020 Share Posted February 14, 2020 And a 24.9 m fine ?. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whosthedado 1,487 Posted February 14, 2020 Share Posted February 14, 2020 (edited) They'll just appeal it Edited February 14, 2020 by Whosthedado 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uilleam 5,409 Posted February 14, 2020 Share Posted February 14, 2020 Compare what happened to Saracens rugby club, in England's top Division for breaching salary cap: points deduction, guaranteeing relegation. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc 280 Posted February 14, 2020 Share Posted February 14, 2020 1 hour ago, Uilleam said: Compare what happened to Saracens rugby club, in England's top Division for breaching salary cap: points deduction, guaranteeing relegation. Compare it with what happened to us. Knocked down three fucking leagues and prevented from playing in Europe. We were singled out compared to everyone else. City, Juve, Saracens. Nobody got more screwed than Rangers did. 3 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc 280 Posted February 14, 2020 Share Posted February 14, 2020 1 hour ago, Whosthedado said: They'll just appeal it And they have a point in doing so. UEFA have acted like judge, jury and executioner here and that needs scrutiny if nothing else. City have the tenacity and the financial muscle to take this to the CAS and see what the outcome is. I wish we'd had the backbone to do the same to the SFA and the SPL. Sadly we'll never know what CAS might have said about the 5 way agreement/death sentence we were forced to sign. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gonzo79 13,581 Posted February 14, 2020 Share Posted February 14, 2020 City have breached FFP rules. Juventus were caught cheating due to involvement in the appointment of certain match officials. Rangers were done for a tax avoidance scheme and for not fulfilling tax obligations. The three things aren't comparable. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
JFK-1 1,666 Posted February 14, 2020 Share Posted February 14, 2020 Makes the EPL a little more interesting as a scrap to take the vacated CL spot heats up. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
cooponthewing 1,139 Posted February 14, 2020 Author Share Posted February 14, 2020 39 minutes ago, JFK-1 said: Makes the EPL a little more interesting as a scrap to take the vacated CL spot heats up. Sheffield Utd chairmen will be having an enjoyable evening. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc 280 Posted February 15, 2020 Share Posted February 15, 2020 9 hours ago, Gonzo79 said: City have breached FFP rules. Juventus were caught cheating due to involvement in the appointment of certain match officials. Rangers were done for a tax avoidance scheme and for not fulfilling tax obligations. The three things aren't comparable. I agree they aren't comparable but then neither were the punishments. And who came off worse from it? 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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