Man City face critical appeal against two-season European ban
Manchester City’s appeal against a two-year ban from European competition will be heard by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) from Monday in a case of wide-reaching repercussions.
City are accused of overstating sponsorship earnings to hide that that they had not complied with UEFA’s financial fair play (FFP) rules between 2012 and 2016 and were also handed a 30 million euro ($34 million, o27 million) fine.
UEFA’s case was prompted when German magazine Der Spiegel published a number of leaked emails in 2018 that purported to show how City produced extra sponsorship earnings from a series of companies with connections to the club’s Abu Dhabi-based owner Sheikh Mansour.
Under the Sheikh’s ownership, City’s fortunes have been transformed from perennially residing in the shadow of local rivals Manchester United to winning four Premier League titles previously eight years.
However, vast amounts of investment in players and managers has not yet been able to provide the club’s first ever Champions League title.
City are still involved with this season’s competition and you will be allowed to compete if the 2019/20 edition of Champions League return in August regardless of the outcome of the appeal. - Financial hit -
But a two-season ban from the competition would represent an enormous blow to the club’s prestige, finances and hope of hanging onto manager Pep Guardiola and key players like Kevin de Bruyne and Raheem Sterling.
“Two years would be long. One year is something I could be in a position to cope with,” De Bruyne told Het Laatste Nieuws last month.
City banked 93 million euros from prize money and television set rights alone by achieving the quarter-finals of last season’s Champions League.
The added loss of gate receipts and commercial earnings would make it extremely problematic for the club to meet up FFP regulations later on without cutting costs.
City have steadfastly refuted UEFA’s allegations.
“Predicated on our experience and our perception, this appears to be less about justice and more about politics,” said CEO of the town Football Group Ferran Soriano.
UEFA has been under great pressure, most publicly from La Liga president Javier Tebas, to impose a harder line on clubs backed by states, like City and Qatari-owned Paris Saint-Germain.
European football’s governing body likewise have plenty riding on the case. Lose the appeal and the continuing future of UEFA’s FFP regulations will be called into question.
- Premier League impact -
The hearing will be held by videoconference because of coronavirus restrictions from Monday to Wednesday.
If no verdict is immediately announced after the hearing, your choice “could possibly be made through the month of July,” said Matthieu Reeb, secretary general of CAS.
Even if City’s appeal to CAS fails, the English champions could present an additional appeal prior to the Swiss Federal Court.
A delayed outcome would leave a cloud hanging over the return of the Premier League season.
City seem certain to secure Champions League qualification on the field with a 12-point lead over fifth-placed Manchester United.
If they're excluded, fifth will be sufficient for the riches of next season’s Champions League, which are all the more valuable through the economic crisis due to coronavirus.
Just six points separate United from Crystal Palace in 11th leaving plenty to play for in the ultimate nine games of the growing season after the Premier League restarts on June 17.
