Manchester City could be banned from the Champions League if they are found to have breached Uefa’s Financial Fair Play (FFP) rules.
The Premier League champions are currently under investigation by European football’s governing body over “deceptions of financial rules revealed in the Football Leaks scandal”, The Daily Telegraph reports.
City were previously fined £49m in 2014 for violating FFP but that punishment was reduced to £18m, says The Guardian. However, since new Football Leaks information was published by German magazine Der Spiegel, Uefa has re-opened the case.
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Sky Sports reports that the Football Leaks documents alleged that City had “inflated their sponsorship income in order to comply with Uefa’s break-even rules”.
Speaking on Sunday in Dublin, Uefa president Aleksander Ceferin said action would be taken if City are found to have broken FFP rules.
Punishments could include a transfer ban or fine but the Guardian says Uefa officials believe “sporting sanctions are the only appropriate response should City be found to have flouted them”.
“We are assessing the situation,” said Ceferin. “We have an independent body working on it. Very soon you will have an answer on what will happen in this concrete case.”
In response to the Football Leaks reports, City issued a statement last month saying: “We will not be providing any comment on out-of-context materials purportedly hacked or stolen from City Football Group and Manchester City personnel and associated people. The attempt to damage the club’s reputation is organised and clear.”
