Lausanne (AFP)
The Sports Arbitral Tribunal will announce around July 13 whether or not the English club Manchester City is excluded for two years from the European Cups, we learned Thursday after from the institution based in Lausanne (Switzerland).
"The final award will be made during the week of July 13," said Matthieu Reeb, the director general (well director general) of the CAS.
The institution studied for three days, at the beginning of June, by videoconference, the appeal of the English club which disputes its exclusion from the European Cups by UEFA for non-compliance with financial fair play.
The European confederation imposed a fine of 30 million euros on City, which it accuses of having overvalued its advertising revenues covering the period 2012-2016.
The financial losses incurred by an absence from the European scene would greatly exceed EUR 100 million per year and would not be without consequences for the lifestyle of the English club, especially since the Champions League acts as a showcase for Emirati owners of City.
But the sanction, if confirmed, would not prevent the Citizens from continuing their journey in the Champions League for the 2019-2020 season, stopped due to coronavirus at the stage of the knockout stages but which must resume in August.
City, 2-1 winner of Real Madrid in the first leg in Spain, must first play this return match in early August. The final C1 tournament, bringing together the last eight qualified, is then scheduled from August 12 to 23 in Lisbon.
If the CAS rules in his favor, City could then compete in the Champions League next season. The club, second in the Premier League behind the already sacred Liverpool, has an 11-point lead over Manchester United, who occupies fifth place, the first non-qualifier for the C1.
Another great European, AC Milan was excluded for the 2019-2020 season from European competitions after breaking the rules of financial fair play, a decision confirmed in June 2019 by the CAS.
© 2020 AFP