UEFA found Manchester City guilty of breaching Financial Fair Play (FFP) rules, earlier in February. They were accused of over-inflating sponsorship deals to disguise funds which were pumped into the club by owner Sheikh Mansour.
Manchester City were banned from all European competitions including the UEFA Champions League for the next two seasons and was also fined €30 million. But, City has always stated that they were not guilty of breaching the FFP rules. They appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS) against the ban imposed by UEFA.
CAS has now given the verdict in favour of Manchester City. The European competitions ban has been lifted and the penalty of €30 million has been reduced to €10 million. City are second in the Premier League table, which means they will be allowed to take part in the Champions League next season.
CLUB STATEMENT https://t.co/RlR33Vy2bI
— Manchester City (@ManCity) July 13, 2020
Manchester City released a statement: “Whilst Manchester City and its legal advisors are yet to review the full ruling by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), the Club welcomes the implications of today’s ruling as a validation of the Club’s position and the body of evidence that it was able to present.”
“The Club wishes to thank the panel members for their diligence and the due process that they administered.”
There were speculations that if the club was banned from European competitions, many top players would have left. So now as the ban has been lifted, Guardiola would feel a sigh of relief and start preparing for the Champions League last-16 second leg against Real Madrid, where they have a 2-1 advantage.
After missing out on the Premier League title to Liverpool, Manchester City now has eyes on the Champions League trophy.
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