Manchester City will compete in next season’s Champions League after the Court of Arbitration for Sport overturned City’s two year ban from the competition imposed by UEFA in February this year.
City were bullish in their defence against the charges for which UEFA found them guilty, with CAS declaring that City did not “disguise equity funding as sponsorship contributions”.
The two year ban from European competition was completely overturned and City’s fine of 30m Euros was reduced to 10m Euros for failing “to co-operate with the UEFA authorities.”
The result is a massive blow to UEFA whose case against City appears to have overlooked allegations which were deemed inadmissible for CAS to judge because they fell outside of a five year statute of limitations.
The impact on club football and the future of FFP may take some time to become clear.
In a statement on the UEFA website, the organisation said: “UEFA takes note of the decision taken by the Court of Arbitration for Sport to reduce the sanction imposed on Manchester City FC by UEFA’s independent Club Financial Control Body for alleged breaches of the UEFA Club Licensing and Financial Fair Play regulations.
“UEFA notes that the CAS panel found that there was insufficient conclusive evidence to uphold all of the CFCB’s conclusions in this specific case and that many of the alleged breaches were time-barred due to the 5 year time period foreseen in the UEFA regulations.
“Over the last few years, Financial Fair Play has played a significant role in protecting clubs and helping them become financially sustainable and UEFA and ECA remain committed to its principles.
“UEFA will be making no further comments on the matter.”
It’s expected that the full CAS adjudication with reasons will be published on the CAS website within a few days.
In a statement on the City website, the club said they would review the full ruling when it became available, adding: “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.”