Champions League: Manchester City file appeal against UEFA ban at Court of Arbitration for Sport

Lausanne: Manchester City have filed an expected appeal at the Court of Arbitration for Sport against a two-year ban from European football competition. The club met its late-Monday deadline to challenge UEFA, CAS said on Wednesday. [caption id=“attachment_8089371” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola. AP Photo[/caption] “It is not possible to indicate at this time when a final award in this matter will be issued,” the court said in a statement. It is unclear if City will seek UEFA’s consent for a public hearing. They could try to reach an out-of-court settlement to resolve the dispute. UEFA found City guilty of “serious breaches” of financial monitoring rules and failing to cooperate with an investigation opened almost one year ago. Leaked internal club documents published in German magazine Der Spiegel in November 2018 showed City deceived UEFA by overstating sponsorship deals from 2012-16 and hiding the source of revenue tied to its owners in Abu Dhabi. One internal email said City officials preferred to spend tens of millions on “the 50 best lawyers in the world” to sue UEFA rather than accept punishment. City never disputed the authenticity of documents, which it said were illegally obtained. The club is currently excluded from playing in the Champions League, Europa League or Super Cup in the next two seasons. UEFA also fined City 30 million euros. The punishment does not affect City’s current Champions League campaign. The team plays at Real Madrid on Wednesday in the first leg of the round of 16. City CEO Ferran Soriano hopes to resolve the case by the end of the season. CAS verdicts typically take about a year to reach unless both parties agree to a fast-track process. Previous appeals to CAS involving clubs who broke UEFA’s Financial Fair Play rules were dealt with after a few months in June or July to avoid harming the next season’s competitions. Clubs have typically been banned for one European season for breaking finance rules, but that is without bad faith and deception as part of the case. The latest Man City battle against UEFA follows a CAS ruling in November which dismissed the club’s attempt to end the investigation on procedural grounds.