Manchester City are “disappointed, but regrettably not surprised” after being referred to UEFA’s adjudicatory chamber following an investigation into FFP. City were fined 49million and hit with restrictions on transfer spending and their Champions League squad after FFP breaches were originally investigated in 2014, and UEFA began a new probe after further allegations about the same period were made in German publication Der Spiegel last year.
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It has been widely reported that UEFA investigators want City banned from the Champions League for a season if found guilty of breaking financial rules. The Citizens have denied any wrongdoing and, in a strongly-worded statement, said the “decision contains mistakes, misinterpretations and confusions” and was the product of a “wholly unsatisfactory, curtailed, and hostile process”.
The statement read: “Manchester City Football Club is disappointed, but regrettably not surprised, by the sudden announcement of the referral to be made by the (club financial control body) CFCB IC chief investigator Yves Leterme. “The leaks to media over the last week are indicative of the process that has been overseen by Mr Leterme.”
“Manchester City is entirely confident of a positive outcome when the matter is considered by an independent judicial body. “The accusation of financial irregularities remains entirely false and the CFCB IC referral ignores a comprehensive body of irrefutable evidence provided by Manchester City FC to the chamber.
“The decision contains mistakes, misinterpretations and confusions fundamentally borne out of a basic lack of due process and there remain significant unresolved matters raised by Manchester City FC as part of what the club has found to be a wholly unsatisfactory, curtailed, and hostile process.”
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