Manchester Endgame

Written by Rohan Sharma

Manchester City have been banned from competing in the Champions League for two years.

UEFA handed down the punishment, which includes a €30 million fine (£25m/$33m), to the Premier League giants for breaching Financial Fair Play rules.

Following an investigation, the Adjudicatory Chamber of UEFA's Club Financial Control Body (CFCB) found City guilty of "overstating its sponsorship revenue" between 2012 and 2016

UEFA's statement read: "The Adjudicatory Chamber, having considered all the evidence, has found that Manchester City Football Club committed serious breaches of the UEFA Club Licensing and Financial Fair Play Regulations by overstating its sponsorship revenue in its accounts and in the break-even information submitted to UEFA between 2012 and 2016.

The investigation started after a series of allegations published by German magazine Der Spiegel in November 2018, which drew on documents purportedly obtained by whistleblowers Football Leaks

"The Adjudicatory Chamber has also found that in breach of the regulations the Club failed to cooperate in the investigation of this case by the CFCB.

"The Adjudicatory Chamber has imposed disciplinary measures on Manchester City Football Club directing that it shall be excluded from participation in UEFA club competitions in the next two seasons (ie. the 2020/21 and 2021/22 seasons) and pay a fine of €30 million."

Denying any wrong doing, City responded with a statement on their website, saying UEFA made the decision even before the investigation had started.

"Manchester City is disappointed but not surprised by today’s announcement by the UEFA Adjudicatory Chamber," the statement said. "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."

How have Man City responded?

Man City are unwilling to speak in detail about the matter to the media and are expected to maintain this approach until the end of the appeals process.

They have, however, stated that they intend on appealing the ban and have denied any wrongdoing in the past.

Man City said in a statement that they were “disappointed but not surprised” by UEFA’s decision.

They outlined their intention to appeal the ban “at the earliest opportunity” with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), and slammed the "prejudiced" process. 

Their statement read: “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.

"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."

There is a possibility that the ban could be overturned should City be successful in their appeal. If the ban is overturned, they would be allowed to resume participation in the Champions League and other European competitions.

How will Man City’s ban affect Champions League qualification in the Premier League?

UEFA rules state that clubs finishing in the Premier League top four automatically qualify for next season’s Champions League.

Should Man City’s ban be upheld, their 2020-21 Champions League spot will go to the club that finishes fifth in the table (assuming that Man City finish in the top four).

According to UEFA’s Champions League rule 4.08 , in the event of a team being disqualified from the competition, their spot goes to the next best-placed club in the top flight.

They state: “A club which is not admitted to the competition is replaced by the next best-placed club in the top domestic championship of the same association, provided the new club fulfils the admission criteria.”

Can Man City compete in the Europa League?

No. UEFA’s decision states that Man City are disqualified from competing in UEFA club competitions, and this includes the Europa League.

They state that Man City “shall be excluded from participation in UEFA club competitions in the next two seasons (ie. the 2020-21 and 2021-22 seasons)”.

What happens if Man City win the Champions League this season?

UEFA rules state that whoever wins the Champions League automatically qualifies for next season’s competition, regardless of their domestic league performance.

In this case, however, it is understood that Man City will still not be allowed to compete in next season’s Champions League as titleholders.

They would also be unable to compete in the UEFA Super Cup, and possibly the Club World Cup.

Could Man City face a Premier League points deduction?

According to the Independent , Man City could be dealt with another huge blow in a possible Premier League points deduction .

It is likely that the Premier League will be made to deal their own punishment to the club in order to be in accordance with UEFA’s FFP regulations.

The punishment could potentially be a points deduction should Man City’s ban not be overturned following the appeal.

With Man City 22 points adrift of Liverpool at the time of UEFA issuing their statement, a potential points deduction would not impact the title race or put them in danger of relegation – though it is not yet clear how many points could be deducted.

My Opinion: 

If the Two Year Ban is upheld by CAS then Manchester City can see its major stars seeking moves away from the Etihad in search of regular Champions League football. Stars like Kevin de Bruyne, Leroy Sane, Raheem Sterling could be snapped up by clubs like Real Madrid, Barcelona and Bayern Munich and thus the club will find it tough to attract world class talent without Champions League or Europa League football. On the bright side young players especially Phil Foden will get a more center stage role to play and thus it might be a blessing in disguise for the club to use this time to expose and promote their academy players to the big stage and thus saving them millions of dollars in transfer fees and thus can work on building a squad capable of fighting for the UEFA Champions League, Premier League, FA Cup, Carabao Cup when they return to Europe in the 2022-2023 season.