Not going quietly: Manchester City files appeal to CAS over $50m fine and two-year CL ban
Manchester City has filed an official appeal at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) against a two-season ban from European competitions.
City were handed the ban and fined £24.9m (AUD$49 million) on February 14 for “serious breaches” of UEFA’s Financial Fair Play and club licensing regulations, after being found guilty by an Adjudicatory Chamber of the Club Financial Control Body (CFCB).
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In a statement, UEFA said City “overstated its sponsorship revenue in its accounts and in the break-even information submitted to UEFA between 2012 and 2016”.
The club were also found guilty of “failing to cooperate in the investigation by the CFCB” and will be banned from Europe in the 2020/21 and 2021/22 seasons.
The club immediately made clear their intentions to challenge that ruling, saying in a statement at the time that they were “disappointed but not surprised” by the verdict, describing the process as “prejudicial”.
In their first extended response to the ban, City’s chief executive Ferran Soriano described the allegations as “false”, adding that the club “will do everything that can be done to prove so.”
In their statement on Wednesday, CAS said: “The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has registered an appeal filed by Manchester City football club against the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA).
“The appeal is directed against the decision of the Adjudicatory Chamber of the UEFA Club Financial Control Body (CFCB) dated 14 February 2020 in which Manchester City was deemed to have contravened UEFA’s Club Licensing and Financial Fair Play Regulations and sanctioned with exclusion from the next two seasons of UEFA club competitions for which the club would qualify and ordered to pay a fine of 30 million euros.
“Generally speaking, CAS appeal arbitration procedures involve an exchange of written submissions between the parties while a Panel of CAS arbitrators is being convened.
“Once the Panel has been formally constituted it issues procedural directions, including, inter alia, with respect to the holding of a hearing.
“Following the hearing, the Panel deliberates and then issues its decision in the form of an Arbitral Award.
“It is not possible to indicate at this time when a final award in this matter will be issued.”
This story originally appeared on Sky Sports and is reproduced with permission