As the Houston Astros get their shit handed to them by all of the MLB in the United States for a cheating scandal, here in the U.K., Manchester City is dealing with their own set of circumstances that involve bending the rules.
News broke Friday that the defending Premier League champs have been slapped with a two-year Champions League ban and a €30 million fine by the UEFA for committing serious breaches of Financial Fair Play rules.
City were found guilty by Uefa’s club financial control body (CFCB) of having falsely inflated their sponsorship revenues, when they made submissions for the FFP compliance process. The guilty finding follows an investigation sparked by the publication of “leaked” emails and documents by the German magazine Der Spiegel in November 2018.
The “leaked” emails and documents appeared to show that City’s owner, Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed al-Nahyan of the Abu Dhabi ruling family, was mostly funding the huge, £67.5m annual sponsorship of the City shirt, stadium and academy by his country’s airline, Etihad. One of the leaked emails suggested that only £8m of that sponsorship in 2015-16 was funded directly by Etihad and the rest was coming from Mansour’s own company vehicle for the ownership of City, the Abu Dhabi United Group.
The Club is expected to appeal the ban but said they “weren’t surprised” by the ruling in a statement released shortly after the UEFA decision.
“The Club has always anticipated the ultimate need to seek out an independent body and process to impartially consider the comprehensive body of irrefutable evidence in support of its position.
“In December 2018, the UEFA Chief Investigator publicly previewed the outcome and sanction he intended to be delivered to Manchester City, before any investigation had even begun.
“The subsequent flawed and consistently leaked UEFA process he oversaw has meant that there was little doubt in the result that he would deliver.
“The Club has formally complained to the UEFA Disciplinary body, a complaint which was validated by a CAS ruling.
“Simply put, this is a case initiated by UEFA, prosecuted by UEFA and judged by UEFA. With this prejudicial process now over, the Club will pursue an impartial judgment as quickly as possible and will therefore, in the first instance, commence proceedings with the Court of Arbitration for Sport at the earliest opportunity.”
With this pretty incredible news the focus — if and when the Sky Blues lose their appeal — shifts to Pep Guardiola who was brought to the Club to bring more than just a PL title. If the two-year ban remains in place, that elusive Champions League trophy is going to be a little difficult to obtain which could signal the end of the Guardiola era in Man City.