MANCHESTER CITY could be stripped of TWO Premier League titles on top of their two-year Champions League ban after their Financial Fair Play breach.
The Sky Blues were found guilty by Uefa of seriously misleading the governing body, fined £25million and barred from Europe’s most prestigious club competition.
Man City could be stripped of TWO Premier League titles after their FFP breach
But things could now get worse for the Etihad side after the Mail revealed a separate investigation by the Premier League could see a backdated points deduction handed out.
City are yet to be charged under a separate Prem inquiry but the league’s rule book allows a retrospective points deduction which could alter their league position for seasons gone by.
Liverpool’s scintillating form means a City points deduction this campaign would have little impact on the league’s eventual winners.
But the period under investigation is said to be 2012 – 2016 which could affect City’s 2012 title win and would certainly affect their 2014 glory.
The 2013/14 campaign saw City benefit from a Steven Gerrard slip to win the league on the final game of the season with a 2-0 win over West Ham.
City’s pipped the Reds by just two points overall so if Prem bosses hand out a deduction, Liverpool could be awarded it SIX years after the event.
Prem rules – which are more lenient than Uefa’s – allow for losses of £105m over three seasons.
But City were found guilty by Uefa’s Club Financial Control Body (CFCB) of falsely inflating their sponsorship revenues when submitting accounts as part of the FFP compliance process.
And that means they will now be suspended from any Uefa European competition for the next two seasons as well as being hit in the pocket.
The guilty verdict follows an investigation that was triggered after German magazine Der Spiegel “leaked” emails and documents in November 2018.
They appeared to provide evidence that City owner Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan of the Abu Dhabi ruling family was mostly funding the £67.5m-a-year sponsorship of the club’s shirts, stadium and academy via his nation’s Etihad airline.
One of the emails leaked claimed that just £8m of that sponsorship in the 2015/16 campaign was funded directly from Etihad.
The rest came via Mansour’s own company vehicle for the ownership of City, the Abu Dhabi United Group.
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As such, the team that finishes fifth in the Premier League WILL go into the Champions League next season if City finish in the top four – providing a huge boost to the likes of Manchester United, Sheffield United, Tottenham, Wolves and Everton.
But in a statement, the club has vowed to fight the decision: “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.
“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 judgement as quickly as possible and will therefore, in the first instance, commence proceedings with the Court of Arbitration for Sport at the earliest opportunity.”
FFP was introduced in 2011 in order to stop European clubs overspending on player wages, restricting the amount owners are able to use of their own cash to cover losses.
City owner Sheikh Mansour was allegedly mostly funding the £67.5m-a-year sponsorship of the club’s shirts, stadium and academy via his nation’s Etihad airlineCredit: Reuters
Money from sponsorship obviously boost revenues and increase how much a team can spend, so if Mansour was funding the Etihad deal himself then it led to the allegation City had deceived Uefa’s CFCB.
The reigning Premier League champions have always denied any wrongdoing since the leaks, denouncing the Spiegel coverage as based on “leaked or stolen” documents that were taken out of context.
Spiegel, whose source was referred to as “John”, say no computers were hacked in order to obtain the emails.
Portuguese national, Rui Pinto, was later identified as “John” and has since been charged with 147 criminal offences, including hacking and other cybercrimes, which he denies.
But none of those charges relate to the City “leak” and are only in relation to Portuguese football clubs.
Uefa announced in May they were charging City, who again denied any wrongdoing and claimed they had been subjected to a “hostile” process which ignored “a comprehensive body of irrefutable evidence”.
City were initially fined £49m for FFP breaches in 2014, although that was later reduced to £16m.
City travel to Real Madrid in the last-16 of the Champions League on February 26 before welcoming the Galacticos to the Etihad for the return leg on March 17.
Despite the controversy, City are confident Guardiola will stay as manager even without Champions League football.
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Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
