Manchester City have seen their two-year ban from European football overturned by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) and given £9million fine.
The judgment was given on Monday morning, after the Premier League club filed an appeal against the two-year ban.
The full statement here from European football’s governing body on the two-year ban reads:
‘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,” the statement said.
The news is a piece of good news for Manchester City, but what that means for the likes of Chelsea, Leicester City, Manchester United, Wolves and even Sheffield United, is that finishing in the top four is the only way they can get into next season champions league. Also, given last weekend results, Manchester United with a game in hand, are well-positioned to take advantage of this, by winning their game tonight against Southampton.
According to the report by Dailymail, UEFA rules have a time-barred limit on when clubs can be sanctioned for potential FFP breaches, yet it appears they still pushed ahead with trying to punish City for the perceived breaks. This has raised some concern from players and football pundits, as Gary Lineker intensify the scrutiny on European football’s governing body.
Whatever happens tonight in the game between Manchester United and Southampton, the remaining games are going to be an exciting games to watch, as teams will fight it out to push their way into the top four.