The future of Manchester City hangs in the balance. And Pep Guardiola and his superstars cannot influence a landmark decision this time.
Fatal days for Manchester City: starting Monday, the English champion’s appeal against the European Cup suspension imposed by the European Football Union (UEFA) will be heard before the International Court of Justice for Sport CAS in Lausanne.
The CAS ruling could have far-reaching consequences not only for ManCity but for European football as a whole. The trial is scheduled for Wednesday.
ManCity, coached by star team manager Pep Guardiola, was banned from all European competitions for the next two seasons on 14 February due to “serious breaches” of financial fair play. A fine of 30 million euros was also imposed on the club. The ongoing competition in the premier league is not affected by this, City had presented a 2-1 draw with Real Madrid in the first round of the last sixteen before the Corona crisis caused the competition to be suspended.
If CAS Manchester’s appeal is rejected, the team faces the loss of many stars who have the right to play in the Champions League.
De Bruyne would probably go
“Two years is a long time, one year is something I could live with,” former Bundesliga professional and now ManCity midfielder Kevin De Bruyne recently said in an interview with Het Laatste Nieuws. City would also be forced to cut costs for financial reasons, as the lucrative revenue from the premier league would be lost. Player sales could not be avoided.
City is defending itself against the accusations and denies having received unlawful financial aid from its Arab investors. “These accusations are simply not true. The owner did not put money into the club that was not correctly accounted for,” said manager Ferran Soriano.