In February 2020, UEFA imposed a penalty on English Premier League club, Manchester City, for committing a serious breach of Financial Fair Play (FFP). The offense occurred between 2012 and 2016. The penalty is a ban for two years from competing in European club events and a fine of 30 million euros. On 13 July 2020, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) announced that Manchester City had been found not guilty of “hiding sponsorship money”. Thus, the ban on appearances at European clubs also disappeared. City can still compete in the Champions League until this season. Even City got a discount on fines. They only have to pay as much as 10 million euros.
CAS further stated that City “failed to cooperate with the UEFA authorities”, but managed to reverse UEFA’s decision. The Guardian then revealed on July 29, 2020, about City owner, Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed al-Nayan. The Abu Dhabi owner did arrange payments, believed to be as much as £30 million, for sponsorships in 2012 and 2013, on behalf of Abu Dhabi telecom company Etisalat. Those are the findings put forward by UEFA’s Club Financial Control Body (CFCB). CFCB members, namely senior European lawyers, stated that the two payments actually came from Sheikh Mansour’s own pocket, through his company, Abu Dhabi United Group (ADUG). In the financial report provided by the English FA for the FFP process, it was stated that the sponsorship was obtained from Etisalat.
City itself accepted the fact that there was no contract whatsoever with Etisalat until 2015. In that year, Etisalat reimbursed the sponsorship money to ADUG. UEFA continues to give punishment to City in the form of a European appearance ban and a fine of 30 million euros. City then brought the matter to CAS. The results are known. That’s a tricky problem.
According to the BBC, UEFA started an investigation into City after German newspaper Der Spiegel leaked documents in November 2018 in which City inflated sponsorship values. Meanwhile City insists that the Football Leaks document is far from complete. On 6 February 2023, City was in trouble again. This time bigger. The Premier League announced that, after four years of investigations, they had charged City with more than 100 breaches of financial regulations, committed between 2009 and 2018. City were also accused of not cooperating with investigators.
This time the punishment is more severe than being banned from playing in Europe. Starting from fines, reduced value, and the heaviest, being expelled from the Premier League. Huh! So remember Hermione Granger, Harry Potter’s partner in the Harry Potter franchise. According to Miss Granger, expulsion from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry is worse than death. Of course, City being kicked out of the Premier League would be a major fear as well.
There were a lot of violations committed by City. Various regulatory paragraph and chapter numbers are disclosed. So many. But in short, City is said to have violated rules regarding the obligation to provide “accurate financial information”. The information consists of club income, including income from sponsors and also operational costs, including salaries. The more detailed breaches detail the full salary of the manager, from 2009-10 to 2012-13, when Roberto Mancini was in charge. Plus, player salaries between 2010-11 and 2015-16. The Premier League also stated that City breached UEFA rules, including FFP, from 2013-14 to 2017-18; also the Premier League rules on club profitability and sustainability, from 105-16 to 2017-18.
This time, the announcement from the Premier League surprised everyone, including City. Because, the City was not given a preliminary warning. Furthermore, this case will last a long time. The Premier League alone took four years to investigate everything. One can imagine how long the investigation by the independent committee will last. City manager Pep Guardiola has always maintained that he was assured by his bosses that they had done nothing wrong. Meanwhile, the president of La Liga Spain, Javier Tebas, is one of those figures who has always believed that City’s finances are far from in order.
If City can get away with it again this time, then rest assured they will always be under investigation. The Premier League will be watching them with a keen eye. However, if City loses, then all forms of punishment will be applied. The Premier League has many ideas for punishments, and we, as spectators, can only wait to see what those punishments will be. What is certain is that Manchester City’s reputation, including that of its owner, is in jeopardy. The end result, whenever it appears, will be very interesting.
ASL
