Manchester City Banned From Champions League for 2 Seasons

The club was also fined 30 million euros for “serious breaches” of European soccer’s financial regulations.

Manchester City has said it will fight any ruling thatbans the club from the Champions League

Manchester City, the reigning Premier League champion and one of the world’s richest soccer clubs, has been barred from the Champions League for the next two seasons for “serious breaches” of European soccer’s financial regulations.

                The decision, announced Friday by an independent financial control body of UEFA, the governing body for soccer in Europe, found that Manchester City had been guilty of multiple violations related to club licensing and so-called financial fair play rules — cost controls put in place by UEFA to try to mitigate the growing gap between rich clubs and poor ones in European leagues, and to tackle a growing debt crisis. The club, which also was criticized for failing to cooperate with UEFA’s investigators, also was fined 30 million euros ($32.5 million).

The penalty is the most significant punishment UEFA has handed out in the decade since it created its financial fair play regulations, and if upheld its consequences for Manchester City’s balance sheet and its competitive future could be severe. Participation in the Champions League is worth about $100 million a year to the club, and missing out on it could factor into the career decisions of some of the team’s star players, potential signings and even City’s coach, Pep Guardiola.

                The ban has no effect on this year’s Champions League; Manchester City, which has never won the competition, will play Real Madrid on Feb. 26 in the first leg of a home-and-home series in the round of 16. And City, which is currently second in the Premier League, may be able to delay a ban for next season if its appeal is not resolved before the 2020-21 Champions League begins this fall.

                UEFA’s decision also raises the prospect of further penalties from the Premier League, which has its own cost control regulations that rely on clubs’ providing accurate financial information. The Premier League said last March that it had opened an investigation into Manchester City in the wake of leaks of the club’s internal documents in the Football Leaks hacking scandal. The Premier League’s chief executive, Richard Masters, last week declined to answer when asked about the status of that investigation.

                Shortly after UEFA’s ruling, City issued a statement indicating it would appeal the Champions League ban.

                “Manchester City is disappointed but not surprised by today’s announcement by the UEFA Adjudicatory Chamber,” the statement said. “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.”