UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin has emphasized that the European governing body was “right” in expelling Manchester City from the Champions League for violating financial regulations, despite the club’s successful appeal.
Manchester City faced a two-year suspension in February 2020 from UEFA’s Club Financial Control Body (CFCB), but the decision was overturned by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in July of that year. CAS ruled that some alleged breaches were “not established,” while others were time-barred. The club’s fine for failing to cooperate with CFCB investigators was reduced to €10 million (£8.6 million) by CAS.
Ceferin, however, expressed his confidence in the decision, stating in an interview with Britain’s Daily Telegraph published on Wednesday: “We know we were right. 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,” he added. “And, sometimes, you lose a case when you’re sure… You have to respect 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.”
Ceferin’s reference to the case in England relates to the Premier League’s decision last year to refer Manchester City to an independent commission for over 100 breaches of the competition’s financial rules. The club has expressed anticipation in presenting “irrefutable evidence” against the charges.
Despite Manchester City’s success on the field with a treble-winning campaign last season, concerns persist that their achievements will be under scrutiny until all allegations of breaching financial fair play rules are resolved.
Premier League chief executive Richard Masters informed a British parliamentary committee last week that a date had been set for the commission hearing but did not disclose when it would take place.
Masters defended the time taken, attributing it to the different “volume and character” of the City case compared to other instances involving Everton and Nottingham Forest.
