UEFA Find Manchester City Guilty And Seek Punishment
By David Crook
Today UEFA announced that they had in effect found Manchester City guilty of breaching the Financial Fair Play regulations and have passed the matter to their own “Adjudicatory Chamber” to determine the level of sanction to be imposed.
The timescales and decisions which have been announced today are exactly in line with the leaked story which appeared in the New York Times earlier in the week, so has come of little surprise to either fans or to Manchester City. In fact City issued a stinging statement criticising the ongoing actions taken by UEFA.
City have today said they are “not surprised” by the announcement given “the leaks to media over the last week are indicative of the process” and “ignores a comprehensive body of irrefutable evidence provided”.
City have gone on to say the “decision contains mistakes, misinterpretations and confusions fundamentally borne out of a basic lack of due process”. It is understood City provided over 100 pages of evidence some three weeks ago, including a number of questions and apparently have had no response from UEFA other than the announcement today.
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City are therefore feeling the process being followed by UEFA is not any one of good governance as defined in law but some kind of witch hunt, where guilt has been established prior to considering the available evidence.
Some in the media have pointed out UEFA appeared to have been rushed into making an announcement today because it is in fact the 5th anniversary of UEFA imposing the original sanction and any further delay would have made matters “out of time” for consideration as UEFA rules stipulate a 5 year time limit on evidence.
Regardless of the veracity of the allegation – UEFA do not appear to be doing their case any favours by apparently following a process which seems full of opportunities to succumb to legal challenge. City have said what has happened so far is a “wholly unsatisfactory, curtailed and hostile process”.
In fact when considering the statement issued today by Manchester City I cannot recall ever having read a stronger rebuttal and critique before. What this all indicates is that this is going to continue for some considerable time.
Manchester City are now technically awaiting the imposition of their fate before instigating any appeal procedure. Given the strength of the City statement and the complete lack of faith in the UEFA process it is unlikely these matters will not be concluded until they have exhausted the Court of Arbitration for Sport at the very least. So, City fans will need to get used to reading these headlines because it will probably be at least 12 months before they are resolved fully.
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It would not be a surprise if at this time – given the strength of feeling apparent, and the ongoing damage to Manchester City’s reputation -if City became litigious in the meantime, seeking redress for damages. Quite what will happen next is anyone’s guess but without a doubt this experience will ensure nothing is ever the same again.