Man City have had their Champions League ban overturned by the Court of Arbitration for Sport

Man City's Champions League ban overturned: Court of Arbitration for Sport rule in City's favour and overturn two-year UEFA ban

By Sporting Life

Football

Mon July 13, 2020 · 4y ago

Manchester City have been cleared to play in the Champions League next season after the Court of Arbitration for Sport overturned the two-year ban handed out by UEFA for breaches of Financial Fair Play.

Instead of a two-year ban and a near £25m fine that was originally handed out, CAS has now ruled that City will not be banned from European competition at all, and wil be fined just 10 million euros.

CAS has ruled that the two-year ban handed out by UEFA was too harsh a punishment, and while acknowledging that they had breached the rules, stated that the more appropriate action was just a reduced fine.

A Man City statement read: "Whilst Manchester City and its legal advisors are yet to review the full ruling by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), the Club welcomes the implications of today’s ruling as a validation of the Club’s position and the body of evidence that it was able to present.

"The Club wishes to thank the panel members for their diligence and the due process that they administered."

What is the actual ruling?

CAS found that City had not disguised equity funding as sponsorship, but did say they had failed to co-operate with the investigation.

CAS also found that most of the alleged breaches were either not established or were time-barred.

CAS decided that it was "not appropriate" to maintain the European competition ban, as the allegations of disguising owner funding as sponsorship, which were not proven, were more serious than the allegation about a lack of co-operation.

City were found to have breached Article 56 of UEFA's club licensing and FFP regulations, which state that a licensee (club) must "co-operate with the licensor (UEFA) and the UEFA Club Financial Control Body in respect of their requests and enquiries".

The punishment for this less serious breach, though, was not a ban from European competition but merely just a reduced fine.

What is the response from UEFA?

UEFA said that despite the decision, both itself and the European Club Association "remain committed" to the principles of FFP, which are designed to ensure that clubs only spend what they earn.

UEFA released a statement which read: "UEFA takes note of the decision taken by the Court of Arbitration for Sport to reduce the sanction imposed on Manchester City by UEFA's independent club financial control body for alleged breaches of the UEFA club licensing and Financial Fair Play regulations.

"UEFA notes that the CAS panel found that there was insufficient conclusive evidence to uphold all of the CFCB's conclusions in this specific case and that many of the alleged breaches were time-barred due to the five-year time period foreseen in the UEFA regulations.

"Over the last few years, Financial Fair Play has played a significant role in protecting clubs and helping them become financially sustainable and UEFA and ECA remain committed to its principles.

"UEFA will be making no further comments on the matter."

City favourites for Champions League glory

City are still involved in this season's Champions League, facing Real Madrid in the second leg of their last 16 tie next month, and in fact are the joint-favourites to win the competition alongside Bayern Munich.

Sanctions were imposed by European-governing body UEFA's club financial control body after it ruled that 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", in the process accusing officials of failing to co-operate with its investigation.

However, the club vigorously denied any wrongdoing from the off, dismissing the probe as "flawed" and "prejudicial" and vowing to challenge its conclusions.

Where did the claims come from?

The investigation followed claims in German magazine Der Spiegel, based on leaked documents, that City's owner Sheikh Mansour was topping up the value of sponsorship agreements, in breach of FFP rules.

The club, which refuted the magazine's claims, sought to have the investigation halted while it was in progress, but CAS ruled in November last year that that appeal was "inadmissible" because at that stage, the CFCB had not determined what, if any, sanctions City should face.

City argued in that initial appeal, in court documents released earlier this year, that the decision of the CFCB's investigatory chamber to refer the case to the adjudicatory chamber had been taken "improperly and prematurely".

They also said UEFA had breached confidentiality during the probe, alleging that journalists were being briefed by people with knowledge of the case.

Their appeal to CAS was heard over three days last week and all at the Etihad Stadium and fans alike have since been awaiting the outcome.

What is financial fair play?

FFP was introduced by UEFA at the start of the 2011-12 season as an attempt to prevent clubs falling into serious financial difficulty by overspending.

All clubs competing in UEFA competitions are expected to operate within their means and meet break-even targets, while dealings have to be transparent.

Guardiola's side, who trail newly-crowned Premier League champions Liverpool by 21 points with three games of the season remaining, are scheduled to face Real Madrid in this season's Champions League when it resumes in Portugal next month.

Who does this affect in the Premier League?

The result will not go down too well on the ther side of Manchester, or in west London and Leicester, as before the verdict the fifth spot in the Premier League would result in Champions League qualification.

Man City will finish second in the league this season, but they will now get a Champions League slot as a result of that - leaving just two spots left to fight for in what is a close-run race.

Man Utd can move all the way up into third place with a win over Southampton on Monday - but even if they do they'll still be just six points ahead of sixth-placed Wolves with three games left to play.

Follow Sporting Life on social - find us on Facebook here or tweet @SportingLifeFC

Responsible gambling

We are committed in our support of responsible gambling. Recommended bets are advised to over-18s and we strongly encourage readers to wager only what they can afford to lose.

Sky Bet's responsible gambling tools are detailed here and if you are concerned about your gambling, please call the National Gambling Helpline on 0808 8020 133, or visit begambleaware.org.

Further support and information can be found at GamCare and gamblingtherapy.org.