Manchester City successfully overturned its two-year ban from the Champions League on Monday in a surprising legal victory.
The Court of Arbitration for Sport upheld City’s appeal against the UEFA ban, but imposed a 10 million euro (USD 11.3 million) fine on the club for failing to cooperate with independent investigators.
Some UEFA allegations accusing City of breaking finance rules dating back several years were “time-barred,” the court said.
CAS plans to publish a detailed written verdict within days.
The decision by the three judges clears the team coached by Pep Guardiola to play in the group stage of the Champions League next season. The case does not affect City’s place in this season’s competition, which resumes next month.
City’s win guarantees tens of millions of dollars in UEFA prize money next season. It also protects against players leaving to seek Champions League action with another club.
Guardiola had pledged to stay in Manchester “no matter what happens” in the courts.
“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,” City said in a statement.
UEFA punished Man City in February for “serious breaches” of finance monitoring rules and failing to cooperate with investigators. The allegations included that City, owned by Abu Dhabi’s royal family, misled UEFA over several years to meet financial integrity rules — known as Financial Fair Play — required to enter European club competitions.
City denied wrongdoing, and said it had “irrefutable evidence” the claims were not true.
“The CAS award emphasized that most of the alleged breaches reported by the Adjudicatory Chamber of the (UEFA club finance panel) were either not established or time-barred,” the court said.
UEFA decided to create the FFP system 11 years ago, following the global financial crisis, to monitor finances of 200-plus clubs which qualify each year for its competitions. Clubs must approach break-even on commercial income and spending on transfers and salaries. Sponsor deals linked to wealthy owners must be set at fair market rates.
City’s win at the CAS will raise questions with regards to UEFA Financial Fair Play Programme and its viability. This win adds City to the list which includes PSG and AC Milan as the clubs to have beaten UEFA in the CAS in a matter relating to UEFA Financial Fair Play.
