In case anyone has forgotten, two years ago we were sanctioned by European football's governing body, which saw fit to exclude us for two seasons from its competitions. It was a punishment that posed an existential threat to our club's ambitions to compete at the highest levels of English and European football.
The 'evidence' used as justification of UEFA's decision took the form of hacked internal correspondence. It was presented selectively in a foreign publication, but gave rise to intensive lobbying efforts on the part of rival clubs seeking to have strict penalties imposed on us. They were backed by the British sports media, whose hysterical coverage gave rise to a febrile atmosphere in which UEFA didn't feel it could be seen not to take strong action.
Two UK newspapers plus several individual journalists from other outlets (some with demonstrable links to the rival clubs pushing for us to be penalised) were instrumental in setting the tone for the more widespread reporting that created such an atmosphere. As was subsequently proven in the proceedings before the CAS, much of the reporting of the outlets and individuals I'm referring to was manifestly in bad faith, while some of it was outright mendacious.
These newspapers and individuals now lack the casus belli that they revelled in with regard to our FFP investigation. They very much haven't gone away, though: their attitude hasn't changed, and they're out to discredit our club however and whenever they can.
I appreciate that not everyone will be interested in discussing that, which is fine. Personally, though, I want to keep an eye on people who have a platform and admit that they want to use it to damage our club. This thread seems a perfectly suitable forum for discussing what I and others with a similar interest see. If others want to use that to say I'm a "radical" or in Sam Lee's words a "militant crank", then those are labels I utterly reject.
The 'evidence' used as justification of UEFA's decision took the form of hacked internal correspondence. It was presented selectively in a foreign publication, but gave rise to intensive lobbying efforts on the part of rival clubs seeking to have strict penalties imposed on us. They were backed by the British sports media, whose hysterical coverage gave rise to a febrile atmosphere in which UEFA didn't feel it could be seen not to take strong action.
Two UK newspapers plus several individual journalists from other outlets (some with demonstrable links to the rival clubs pushing for us to be penalised) were instrumental in setting the tone for the more widespread reporting that created such an atmosphere. As was subsequently proven in the proceedings before the CAS, much of the reporting of the outlets and individuals I'm referring to was manifestly in bad faith, while some of it was outright mendacious.
These newspapers and individuals now lack the casus belli that they revelled in with regard to our FFP investigation. They very much haven't gone away, though: their attitude hasn't changed, and they're out to discredit our club however and whenever they can.
I appreciate that not everyone will be interested in discussing that, which is fine. Personally, though, I want to keep an eye on people who have a platform and admit that they want to use it to damage our club. This thread seems a perfectly suitable forum for discussing what I and others with a similar interest see. If others want to use that to say I'm a "radical" or in Sam Lee's words a "militant crank", then those are labels I utterly reject.