Champions League ban: CAS confirms Manchester City’s appeal
The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has confirmed that they have registered an appeal from Manchester City as the reigning Premier League champions fight to overturn a two-season Champions League ban.
UEFA found the club guilty of breaching Financial Fair Play rules and failing to cooperate with its investigation, handing City a €30m (£25m/$33m) fine on top of their two-year European suspension.
City moved quickly to profess their innocence and vowed to prove UEFA wrong, with a CAS appeal the first order of business.
CAS has now confirmed the appeal has been lodged, releasing an official statement on Wednesday, which reads: “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 EUR 30 million.
“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.”
City will hope that a verdict will be reached sooner rather than later as the ban poses a number of questions regarding the club’s future.
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However contrary to permutations in some quarters that Man City coach Pep Guardiola will head for the exit door should the hammer land at the Ethihad, the Spaniard has said he has no plans of dumping the club.