CAS sets aside 3 days to hear Manchester City’s appeal against UEFA ban
The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has set aside three days in June to hear Manchester City’s appeal against a two-year ban from European competition for breaching fair play rules.
Updated listings posted on the Switzerland-based court’s website on Tuesday set a June 8 to June 10 date.
European football’s governing body UEFA imposed the ban in February for “serious breaches” of the Financial Fair Play (FFP) regulations.
It said Manchester City, whose majority shares are owned by the Abu Dhabi United Group, had overstated sponsorship revenue between 2012 and 2016.
The court added that the club failed to cooperate with UEFA’s investigation.
The club were also handed a fine of 30 million euros (32.81 million dollars).
Manchester City, who said at the time that UEFA’s process was flawed and consistently leaked, denied any wrongdoing and appealed to sports’ highest court.
The ruling, if upheld, would mean Manchester City would not be able to compete in the 2020/2021 UEFA Champions League should they again qualify for Europe’s top club competition.
They would also be banned from European competition in the 2021/2022 season.
The FFP regulations were introduced in 2011 to stop clubs running up big losses buying players.
They are also to ensure sponsorships are genuine commercial deals, rather than ways for owners to pump cash into clubs to circumvent the rules.
Manchester City are second in the Premier League, 25 points behind Liverpool, with play halted since March 9 due to the novel coronavirus pandemic.
The league plans to restart in June. (Reuters/NAN)
