Manchester City, the English club, has been handed a two-year ban from UEFA and fined £25m.
Coached by Pep Guardiola and owned by Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan of the Abu Dhabi ruling family, Manchester City was found to have falsely inflated their sponsorship revenues by UEFA’s Club Financial Control Body (CFCB). This was done to create an illusion of higher income compared to what was actually being spent on player acquisitions, while submitting financial accounts as part of the Financial Fair Play (FFP) compliance process.
FFP, introduced by UEFA, aims to prevent European clubs from spending more than they earn as income and restricts the use of owners’ cash to cover losses, including player wages.
As a result of this ban, Manchester City will be excluded from any UEFA European competition for the next two seasons.
They have announced their decision to appeal the case with the Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS).
The verdict from FIFA comes after an investigation was initiated following the leak of emails and documents in November 2018 by German magazine Der Spiegel. These materials alleged that the club’s owner, Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, was primarily funding the £67.5m-a-year sponsorship of the club’s shirts, stadium, and academy through Etihad airline.
In a statement released on Friday, the club expressed their disappointment, stating, “Manchester City is disappointed but not surprised by today’s announcement by the UEFA Adjudicatory Chamber. 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.”