Manchester City banned from UEFA Champions League

Premier League giants Manchester City have been banned from participating in the Champions League for two seasons and the club have been handed a fine of 30 million euros.

Man City out of Champions League

The decision was announced on Friday evening and has taken the footballing world by storm. UEFA found that the club had seriously misled the continent's governing body and had broken the rules set down by Financial Fair Play. This finding comes from an investigation after Der Spiegel had leaked documents and emails at the end of 2018.

According to reports, UEFA's Club Financial Control Body found that City had falsely inflated their sponsorship revenues which were made as part of the FFP declarations.

UEFA issued the following statement:

'The Adjudicatory Chamber, having considered all the evidence, has found that Manchester City committed serious breaches of the Uefa Financial Fair Play Regulations by overstating its sponsorship revenue in its accounts and in the break-even information submitted to Uefa between 2012 and 2016.

“The Adjudicatory Chamber has also found that in breach of the regulations the club failed to cooperate in the investigation of this case by the CFCB.'

Full screen

The Manchester club, who face Real Madrid in the Last 16 of this season's premiere club competition, have always strongly denied any wrongdoing with regards to this FFP investigation. They have held the stance that the information released by Der Spiegel was taken out of context.

City responds to UEFA ban

Following the news of the sanctions, Manchester City have responded with a statement confirming that they will appeal. The full statement reads:

'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 judgment as quickly as possible and will therefore, in the first instance, commence proceedings with the Court of Arbitration for Sport at the earliest opportunity.'

As the evening wore on, numerous people wanted to make their feelings known about the developments. One of those was LaLiga President, Javier Tebas on Twitter:

'UEFA is finally taking decisive action. Enforcing the rules of FFP and punishing financial doping is essential for the future of football. We have been calling for severe action against Manchester City and PSG for years. Better late than never!'

If City are unsuccessful in their appeal, the ban would commence from the start of next season. Immediately after the news broke, the knock-on repercussions began to be considered. The team that finishes fifth in the Premier League would qualify for the Champions League. It's possible that this year's winners cannot defend their title. Would this see Pep Guardiola reassess his continuation at the club?