Guardiola's departure, loss of points and departure to the fourth division: what threatens Manchester City with suspension from European cups

The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) has suspended Manchester City from performing in European competitions for the next two years. According to the union’s decision, the current champion of England will not be able to play in the Champions League and the Europa League in the seasons 2020/21 and 2021/22, and will also be required to pay a fine for non-compliance with the FFP in the amount of € 30 million. At the same time, the club did not agree with the organization’s decision and intend to appeal.

The reason for the severe sanctions against the English football grandeur was gross violations of the FFP rules in the period from 2012 to 2016. It is noted that Manchester City provided UEFA with inaccurate income information, which helped him avoid punishment.

“After the hearing held on January 22, 2020, the UEFA Arbitration Chamber of the Club Financial Control Commission (IFFC), chaired by Jose da Cugny Rodriguez, today notified the football club of the final decision on the case submitted to the house by the IFRC chief investigator. Having taken into account all the evidence, the Arbitration Chamber found that Manchester City committed serious violations of the rules of club licensing and the UEFA FFP by overestimating the sponsorship income in its accounting and break-even reports filed with UEFA in 2012-2016, ”says in an official press release on the website of the Union of European Football Associations.

UEFA noted that the leadership of the “townspeople” refused to facilitate the investigation.

As a result, it was decided to impose severe sanctions. At the same time, the union emphasized that the six-time champion of England can appeal this verdict at the CAS in Lausanne.

The answer to Manchester City was not long in coming. The team reacted quite harshly to the punishment by UEFA, reproaching the organization for bias.

Manchester City is disappointed, but not surprised, by today's statement by the UEFA Arbitration Chamber. The club has always felt that ultimately there will be a need to involve an independent body and conduct independent proceedings to ensure an impartial review of a comprehensive set of irrefutable evidence in support of the team’s position, ”said the sky blue press service.

According to the citizens, before the start of the investigation, in December 2018, UEFA publicly predicted the sanctions that it intended to apply to Manchester City. The team immediately responded to this and filed a complaint with the disciplinary committee of the union.

“Simply put, UEFA in this case was both the initiator, and the prosecutor, and the judge. Now, upon completion of this prejudicial process, the club will begin to strive for an impartial decision to be issued as soon as possible, therefore it will initiate proceedings at the CAS as soon as possible, ”concluded the press service of the grandeur.

As it became known, the reason for bringing charges against Manchester City was the information available to the German newspaper Der Spiegel. In 2018, a hacker, subsequently identified as the founder of the Football Leaks website by the Portuguese Rui Pinto (however, the publication itself refused to confirm the identity of the informant), handed over the electronic correspondence of representatives of the leadership of six-time champions of England to reporters. It indicated that they deliberately overestimated the size of income from sponsorship agreements, thereby avoiding sanctions for violation of the FFP.

According to the newspaper, the total amount of sponsorship income was € 67.5 million, most of which was paid by the owner of the “townspeople” Sheikh Mansur bin Zayed Al Nahyan. Mostly the funds came from his personal company Abu Dhabi United Group, while the title sponsor represented by Etihad provided only £ 8 million.

It is noteworthy that in the near future not only Manchester City, but Pinto himself may appear in court. According to The Guardian, Pinto is currently charged with 147 criminal offenses related to illegal access to other people's data, extortion, and violation of the privacy of correspondence. He himself denies any involvement in these matters.

The news of the sanctions against Manchester City caused a huge response in the sports community. In the football world they are discussing the future of the team in the event that the appeal in the CAS is not satisfied and the team forgets about playing in the Champions League for the next two years. The club is unlikely to avoid losing a number of leaders, and one of the most sensitive blows could be the departure of head coach Josep Guardiola. According to The Sun, a Spanish specialist can leave the Etihad Stadium in the summer of 2020. In addition, possible candidates for his replacement are already being called. The most popular is the nomination of the ex-mentor of Tottenham Mauricio Pochettino.

At the same time, it is possible that sanctions may extend to the performance of Manchester City not only in European competitions, but also in the home championship. According to The Independent, with a high degree of probability the club can be punished by removing points. This, however, will not greatly affect his position: after 25 rounds, Guardiola wards take second place in the standings and have practically no chance of winning the championship. They have 51 points, while the leading Liverpool have 73 points.

It is noted that the leadership of the Premier League is not considering a possible downgrade of Manchester City in the classroom. At the same time, The Independent claims that recently the management of the English Football League (EFL) has changed the rules so that clubs in a similar position begin their journey anew in the Second Football League of England - the fourth strongest division of the country after the Premier League, Championship and The first football league.

It is worth noting that in the light of the possible removal of the “townspeople”, fifth place in the Premier League standings is of particular importance. If Manchester City remains among the leaders, the team that takes this line will receive a ticket to the Champions League. At the moment, it has a modest Sheffield, ahead of clubs such as Tottenham, Everton, Manchester United and Arsenal.