The reigning Premier League champions Manchester City has been hit with a drastic two-season ban from the Champions League and fined €30 million by UEFA’s independent Club Financial Control Body (CFCB) Adjudicatory Chamber on February 14, 2020.
The severe punishment was imposed after the CFCB found that Manchester City had committed “serious breaches” of UEFA’s Club Licensing and Financial Fair Play (FFP) Regulations. Specifically, the club was found to have overstated its sponsorship revenue in its accounts and in the break-even information submitted to UEFA between the years 2012 and 2016.
Furthermore, the Adjudicatory Chamber found that the club had failed to cooperate with the CFCB’s investigation into the matter, which constituted an additional breach of regulations.
The decision stipulated that Manchester City would be excluded from participating in UEFA club competitions for the 2020/21 and 2021/22 seasons. However, the club immediately announced its intention to appeal the “drastic punishment” to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).
