Football Leaks: Manchester City under Investigations Again

This is a guest post from Vikki Steel.

UEFA could reopen previously concluded Financial Fair Play (FFP) cases against Manchester City due to new information as well as evidence. Over the last few weeks, the football world has been rocked by a massive wave of detailed allegations about these breaches.

The Citizens, who are top of the English Premier League with two clear points have seen things go their way on the field of play but off the pitch are in deep trouble. City has been in fine form and to get the best value visit online betting on football with bet365 and join the winning team.

Football Leaks

Documents and emails that have been provided by whistle-blowing site, Football Leaks, as well as German Magazine Der Spiegel have shed some light on the issue. They have accused reigning Premier League Champions as well as their Abu Dhabi owners of trying to evade European Football FFP rules.

Some of these cases were previously punished and closed but new information brought to light indicates that the governing body did not have some of the information.

Man City has described the reports brought forward as a product of “clear and organized” effort to try and taint their reputation. UEFA on the other hand has said it will not comment on the issue due to confidentiality obligations.

UEFA’s Statement

The statement from UEFA further says that they make yearly assessments of all the clubs against FFP break-even necessities on a rolling three-year basis. These assessments mainly rely on “fair and accurate” information that is provided by the various clubs that are assessed. Additionally, they depend on compliance checks and analysis that they undertake.

“If new information comes to light that may be material to this assessment, UEFA will use that to challenge the figures and will seek explanation, clarification or rebuttal from the club concerned,” said the statement.

Additionally, “Should new information suggest that previously-concluded cases have been abused, those cases may be capable of being re-opened as determined on a case-by-case basis.”

UEFA further went ahead and defended their system saying it had bore fruits over the years since its inception. They said that their regulations have facilitated and helped clubs across Europe. They have gone from a collective debt of £1.5 billion in 2011 to a remarkable £500m in profits in the past year.

Previous Cases

This is not the first time Man City has been accused of breaching FFP rules. In 2014, they accepted a £49m fine when they were found guilty. They were also faced with sanctions. This mainly included a huge restriction on the size of their squad that competed in Europe. This included their next two seasons. This sanctions also limited their transfer wage bill as well as spending fee.

At that time, City grudgingly accepted the charges and defended themselves saying that they accepted the charges reluctantly in the interest of their partners, supporters as well as commercial operators.

City was however reimbursed two-thirds by UEFA for meeting the terms of the settlement they met in 2014.

In the same boat, PSG are also facing fresh investigations on their finances even though the French Champions have approached the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).