UEFA president defends Man City FFP accusations & 2020 Champions League ban
- UEFA handed City a two-year Champions League ban for financial breaches
- Five months later, City won an appeal to CAS & saw the ban overturned
- City are again facing major accusations of financial misconduct
By Tom Gott
UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin has admitted he remains certain that the decision to ban Manchester City from the Champions League over financial breaches back in 2020 was the right call.
An investigation into City's financial dealings was opened by UEFA in 2019 and, in February 2020, the European body found City guilty of "serious breaches" of their Financial Fair Play rules, handing out a two-year ban from all European competition.
City immediately signalled an intention to challenge the verdict and, through an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), the ban was lifted and City were reinstated to the Champions League.
"We know we were right," Ceferin told The Telegraph. "We wouldn’t decide if we didn’t think we were right.
"As a trial lawyer for 25 years, I know that, sometimes, you win a case that you are sure you will lose. And, sometimes, you lose a case when you’re sure... You just simply have to respect in a serious democracy the decision of the court.
"I don’t want to speak about the case in England. But I trust that the decision of our independent body was correct. I didn’t enter into this decision."
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City are once again under pressure over their financial dealings as the Premier League, who also began investigating in 2019, have charged the reigning champions with 115 breaches of FFP regulations - allegations City deny and are fighting behind the scenes.
Premier League CEO Richard Masters recently confirmed a date had been set for a trial with City but refused to reveal said date.
Ceferin sympathised with fans who were frustrated with the duration of the Premier League's investigation, adding: "They want to know what’s going on and what are the consequences but I don’t want to enter into this concrete process because I don’t know what the Premier League is dealing with. I really don’t want to criticise, or something like that. It wouldn’t be fair."
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