According to Sky Sports, UEFA is monitoring the Manchester City case and will wait for the Premier League's disciplinary proceedings to conclude before deciding whether to take action against the club. Manchester City has appealed the independent commission's decision, which found over 100 alleged breaches proven, and continues to deny any wrongdoing.

The independent commission found that Manchester City breached Premier League financial rules between 2009 and 2018, including five breaches of UEFA's Financial Fair Play (FFP) rules. UEFA's FFP rules at that time required clubs to comply with prescribed break-even standards, effectively limiting club spending to their own revenues.

The independent commission found that Manchester City's owners invested £830 million of their own funds over nine seasons and disguised these funds as sponsorship income. Manchester City disputes this finding, claiming it has comprehensive and irrefutable evidence of its innocence.

In 2014, Manchester City reached a settlement with UEFA following FFP breaches. The settlement included a €49 million fine, of which €32 million was suspended. In 2020, Manchester City was found guilty of UEFA FFP breaches, resulting in a €30 million fine (approximately £25.4 million) and a two-year ban from European competitions.

Manchester City subsequently appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), which overturned the European ban. CAS ruled that UEFA failed to prove Manchester City's owners disguised equity funding as sponsorship income, and other alleged breaches were time-barred. Due to Manchester City's failure to cooperate with UEFA's investigation, CAS upheld a reduced fine, cutting it from €30 million (approximately £25.4 million) to €10 million (approximately £8.5 million). CAS stated that most alleged breaches "were either not established or time-barred."

UEFA has a five-year statute of limitations for financial rule breaches, whereas the Premier League does not. UEFA's investigation at that time was triggered by hacked Manchester City emails published by German magazine Der Spiegel in 2018.

Manchester City stated then: "Materials taken out of context appear to have been illegally obtained as part of a coordinated and deliberate attempt to damage the club's reputation."

During its investigation, the Premier League obtained documents and evidence that UEFA was unable to access when investigating Manchester City. Sky Sports contacted Manchester City and UEFA for comment.

Regarding the timeline of Manchester City's appeal, Sky Sports News reporter Kaveh Solhekol said: "The appeal was submitted Thursday evening at 7 p.m. Premier League rules state that the appeal process must be fully concluded within 12 weeks, falling the week before Christmas. The appeal hearing can last a maximum of five days and must be conducted consecutively. The appeal panel must consist of three members who cannot be the same as those on the original commission that decided the case. They will have 30 days to reach a decision and announce their verdict, which will come by the third week of January next year.

This is an expedited appeals procedure introduced by the Premier League this season. Manchester City may argue that this timeline should not apply to this case, as it has been ongoing for years and the new rules only came into effect this season. This is something to watch."

Regarding Manchester City's appeal strategy, Sky Sports News reporter Lyall Thomas understands that Manchester City is likely to argue in its appeal that additional funds in its sponsorship agreements came from the Abu Dhabi government rather than from the club's owners. Manchester City's lawyers made this argument at 2024 hearings, but the independent commission rejected it. The independent commission stated in its decision: "The commission considers this explanation was fabricated by the club well after the events in question in order to conceal the true nature of this disguised financing scheme."

Manchester City is expected to maintain this argument in its appeal. Manchester City is majority-owned by Newton Investment and Development LLC, which is in turn owned by Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan. Mansour is also a member of Abu Dhabi's ruling family and serves as Vice President and Deputy Prime Minister of the UAE. The boundary between UAE state investment and private investment by Abu Dhabi's ruling family has long been a subject of dispute and criticism.

Key findings from the independent commission included: Manchester City entered into "fictitious" contracts with multiple commercial partners as part of a "disguised financing scheme," artificially inflating the club's revenue by £830 million. The club's submitted financial reports concealed its true financial position. Manchester City seriously breached Premier League and UEFA spending limits and committed "significantly more than 100" breaches of Premier League rules. Manchester City failed to cooperate with the Premier League during the investigation and did not act in good faith. Of four related charges, three were proven and one was not.

The independent commission also stated it was "regrettable" that hearings took place from September to December 2024 and that issuing the decision took so long. Manchester City has questioned the fairness of the process.

On 29 September, following the announcement of proven breaches, Manchester City stated: "Manchester City Football Club is disappointed and surprised by today's decision of the independent commission. The club did not commit the breaches alleged by the Premier League and has comprehensive and irrefutable evidence in support of all of the club's positions in this matter. The club will therefore vigorously defend its position in all relevant regulatory and legal proceedings and will take action as necessary. The Premier League proceedings continue and several important milestones remain to be completed. Manchester City Football Club will now appeal through the existing appeal processes, as this decision contains obvious and substantial errors in law, principle and fact, resulting in an unreliable conclusion. Over the past eight years the club has acted in good faith in accordance with proper due process, as we believed that the board and leadership of the Premier League would act as an independent, impartial and fair regulator not subject to bias toward any party. The club's ability to make further comment is clearly limited until all subsequent proceedings have concluded."

In its statement, Manchester City incorrectly referred to the commission as the "Premier League Commission"; the decision was made by an independent commission.

Additionally, Sky Sports News reporters Kaveh Solhekol and Amar Mehta believe that if Manchester City argues this case should not be subject to the new rules introduced by the Premier League this season, its appeal could extend until 2027. Manchester City has filed an appeal. The new appeal rules stipulate that this stage of the disciplinary process should be completed within 12 weeks, with the appeal hearing not exceeding five days.

Manchester City's lawyers may argue that the club was charged in 2023, hearings took place in 2024, and the expedited appeal procedure rules were not yet included in the Premier League Handbook at that time. A legal expert told Sky Sports that Manchester City has strong grounds to argue that the new rules should not apply to this case. These new rules are intended to ensure clubs are punished in the same season in which relevant breaches occurred.

Переведено ИИ.

Сайт AF теперь доступен! Читайте полные новости, комментарии, детали матчей и статистику на компьютере. Посетите: www.allfootballapp.com