European football’s governing body has banned English champions Manchester City from competing in any European club competition for the next two seasons and fined it 30 million euros ($32.5m).
City, owned by the United Arab Emirates and one of the world’s wealthiest football clubs, had been investigated by the UEFA (Union of European Football Associations) over alleged breaches of Financial Fair Play (FFP) rules. The UEFA said in a statemen on Friday that the English giants had committed “serious breaches” of the rules.
The Premier League club swiftly said it intended to appeal the decision to the Lausanne-based Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).
City lashed out at the UEFA in a statement, casting doubt on the body’s impartiality and saying the “prejudicial process” was “flawed”.
The club statement read, “Manchester City is disappointed but not surprised by today’s announcement by the UEFA Adjudicatory Chamber. 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.”
Credit: Aljazeera