UEFA FFP investigation - CAS decision to be announced Monday, 13th July 9.30am BST

[Keeper!]

I think we've lost tbh. The cartel have won. No matter the appeals, even winning an appeal, we've lost. The destruction is total.

Unless we blow FFP out of the water.

The politics is disgusting though, enough to put you off.

I agree with this in part. Even if we win the CAS case the damage has been done and our reputation as a club run by dirty oil money is sealed.
It is also going to have a major impact on our transfer dealings this summer at the very least, just as what the cartel wanted.
I hope the Sheikh goes after these bastards once and for all, show how corrupted UEFA is and systematically destroy it.

 

[kaz7]

Apparently we pay our legal people considerable amounts of money to make sure we're ahead of the game.

My fear is UEFA have additional information from the hack that isn't public, again I state hopefully I'm wrong.

There is a reason they are keeping something to themselves,i've woken up a tad worried today

 

[Marvin]

I don't think it would improve thing a lot, or make them worse.

It would make me happy if a few we're cast out though.

It didn't stop Dan Roan.

The most damaging comments come from liberal journalists who in normal circumstances might defend City but whose natural antipathy towards our Emirati owner has led them to side with UEFA.

Perhaps some in City's fanbase will learn something about self-reliance and realise who their enemies are. Boycott the Guardian. They are one of the main opinion formers and Fleet St's only digital football arm.

 

[Kenward Garg]

I suspect there was no coincidence in the timing between the release of the CAS conclusions and then Uefa's punishment.

For me, this is all a show, not just for the peanut gallery, but for the actual clubs who have lobbied and pressed for punishment.

I remember the last time a punishment was delivered and we eventually got to hear about the deals and levels of back-channeling which took place

Call it quiet optimism or wishful thinking on my part, but CAS is exactly the public forum which still suits both City and Uefa.

Uefa have aired this from the rooftops, it has served all its purposes.

I don't believe Cerefin has come to our games by chance, nor do I believe Khaldoon has been sat idly on his hands.

Uefa can have this whole thing off their backs, once and for all.

They are all about attracting more money into the game, not taking it out.

At CAS, I will not be surprised to see where all the smoking guns are exposed, which people are implicated, how many procedural failures there have been along the way.

Even City's official response last night did not smack of City's usual MO. Yes, there are exceptional circumstances, but all the same, ours is a regime which does not air its dirty linen in public, we keep our powder dry.

A couple of other points, it's an absolute certainty that the wider media will be further emboldened to use this period to try and book end every bit of agenda and lobby for the Premier League and other clubs to try apply retrospective action of their own.

This is a period in when the club and supporters need to take record of who comes out from under those rocks.

Secondly, in terms of a direct impact to finances. I have been assured we won't feel a ripple. We recently took £390m into the group and this can be distributed across it as we see fit.

Lastly, be wary of The Athletic. They were the ones peddling we would not be punished and yet they have now come full circle, pushing the Premier League to stick the boot in.

This is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning.

That last paragraph, I read the same regarding Manchester City when they won the league under Mancini. Never would I have throught the journey since would be so pleasing yet so dispiriting at the same time.

Anyway, it’s the 99 play-off final. We all thought we were thoroughly screwed with no way back. Alas, when all hope had evaporated, it wasn’t to be. The Gods had a plan and I think they have a plan here.

To use Manchester City as an instrument for transformation. It is this that frightens a cartel that is venal and corrupt. They’ve made their move and without doubt, it is now time for the club to make theirs. This they will do and it will transform football forever.

 

[Keeper!]

He spits at kids. His opinion has no merit.

John Aldridge ruffled the hair of a forest player who scored an own goal in the semi final after forest had fully supported Liverpool post Hillsboro.

Tony Adams ran upto Aldridge on the night arsenal pipped Liverpool to the title ruffled Aldridge’s hair and said - that’s for Brian laws. I like tony Adams just for that.

They are dippers and support a club whom were banned for 3 years for mass murder in a football stadium.

 

[KS55]

What senior execs are getting sacked?

As we claim it's bollocks, even if we lose the apeal, at the executive leve they seem united that this is a stitch up no matter, cannot see who is going to go at that level.

If it is shown that there was cashflow in our direction from the owner, disguised as sponsorship, we have uttered false accounts. It is the accounts that Khaldoon believes exhonorates us. If they do not, execs must go. The worst scenario is that Khaldoon himself is believed to have been deceived.
I am confident we will win in the end, but this is the heart of the matter. We must convince CAS that our accounts are true AND that the emails were just part of a conversation that was never actioned AND that Etihad's recapitalization was arms length and nothing to do with us.

 

[Ban-jani]

I'm not as clued up on this case as you guys are. But I keep seeing references to 'irrefutable evidence' that you aren't guilty. Is this just something the owners have come out with? Or is there more to it?

There is no irrefutable evidence either way. The emails require context and UEFA have decided that they are going to presume guilt whereas City say they didn’t mean that.

It will be up to neutral courts to decide whether or not the emails, with context, confirm any guilt.

A wider point here is that the PL, FA and UEFA do not want City dining at the top table and they will do whatever it is they can to stop City. This punishment of a two year suspension, even if City were guilty, is incredibly strong and not even the dogs in the media who hate City, called for anything beyond a year.

FFPR, as anyone with half a brain knows, was brought in specifically to stop City and help the likes of Utd and Liverpool and Arsenal and Madrid and Munich and Barca etc. City, a club with no debt at all, cannot spend their own money, whereas Utd, £500m in debt, can.

The problem is, once this is all over, whether City are banned or not and whenever it is they do actually play in the CL again, they will not be ever allowed to win it. Looking back at the last 3 CL campaigns, since Guardiola came, City have gone out following terrible decisions from the officials in each of the 3 seasons.

The Monaco game City were denied 2 clear penalties and they went out on away goals. The Liverpool game, they scored 2 goals that were onside, that got ruled out and they should have had a penalty at Anfield. The tie is totally different if any of those decisions go in City’s favour. Spurs last season and Llorente handles the ball before it goes in. The new rules stating that any goal scored with a hand/goal in the build up will be disallowed.

VAR this season has been a farce and whilst Liverpool are definitely winning the league regardless of all the decisions being correct, the gap is smaller and Liverpool aren’t beating the records set by City. The PL is desperate for City not to hold those records.

In my opinion, and the opinion of other people I’ve spoken to who support neutral clubs in League One, the Championship, the whole thing stinks from top to bottom. The media, the FA, the PL, UEFA, other clubs, pundits, commentators, journalists, match officials, bureaucrats etc. are all in on corrupting the sport and ensuring that the traditionally powerful clubs are kept there.

Take David Gill for example, he’s involved in the authorities and decision making and even had involvement in this. He’s Utd’s ex CEO, was still on the board up until recently and yet was making decisions on punishing their local rivals. Liverpool and Utd getting to vet the new PL Chairman - how is that allowed? In any other industry it would be conflict of interest.

A sport ceases to be a sport when it’s manipulated in the favour of certain teams and football is well and truly beyond that line.

I’ll just leave it with Martin Samuel’s point in the Mail-

No wonder David Gill and his allies graft so hard in those corridors of power, no wonder Ed Woodward devotes his time to the executive board of the European Clubs Association. Ferran Soriano, chief executive officer of Manchester City, thought he was in line for a place within the ECA.

Then there was a little pushback and suddenly he wasn't, unlike board members at United, Arsenal and Liverpool — the traditional red alliance that controls English football, and holds meetings to which rivals are not invited.

United and Liverpool even got to vet Richard Scudamore's successor at the Premier League, it is claimed. It seems some clubs really are more equal than others.

Manchester City will now take their case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, the first time it is to be heard by a body not linked to UEFA. European football's rulers brought this case, heard this case, and have now passed sentence.

 

[its grim up north]

Personally I'm intrigued why many on here are confident CAS will overturn, or if we go via the court route we'll win.

The cartel and UEFA seem to have been one step ahead right throughout the process.

Clearly I hope I'm wrong but after so many "we'll put them in their place, tear down UEFA" false dawns I'm resigned to a lesser punishment on appeal.

If that happens Mansour needs to review who are running the club, after yesterday that's probably happening anyway.

Personally I'm intrigued why many on here are confident CAS will overturn, or if we go via the court route we'll win.

The cartel and UEFA seem to have been one step ahead right throughout the process.

Clearly I hope I'm wrong but after so many "we'll put them in their place, tear down UEFA" false dawns I'm resigned to a lesser punishment on appeal.

If that happens Mansour needs to review who are running the club, after yesterday that's probably happening anyway.

Pretty sure that City are not interested with anything that CAS decides, as far as I can make out, as a layman when it comes to things legal, City want this in a proper court. City beating UEFA would allow investment back into football. Why should not the likes of Newcastle, Everton and any other team, not necessary PL, have the same opportunity as us.I think this battle will either make or break football.

 

[Its in The Blood]

Once upon a time, there was a really prestigious football tournament called the European Cup, which was based on sporting excellence. It brought together outstanding teams from across the continent. To qualify teams first had to prove themselves by winning their own league, this truly was a competition for champions.

With the glory though also came the opportunity for great wealth & eventually the principal of sporting excellence was overtaken by greed. The self-appointed elite of the time "the European Royalty" decided they wanted a greater share of the spoils & they wanted it guaranteed regardless of their performance!

The grubby little cartel (later known as the G14) threatened to break away & form their own Super League, unless everyone else agreed to their demands! Feeling they had little choice, UEFA caved in & the"Champions" League was born.

At the heart of this self-serving little cartel were 3 English clubs (Man United, Liverpool & Arsenal) & coincidentally the format of the new competition granted 3 places to English teams. It also changed from a straight knockout format to an initial group stage. So now not only could they still qualify by only finishing 2nd or 3rd in the Premier League, they were also guaranteed at least 6 lucrative fixtures each season.

BOOM! The money started rolling in & the big 3 got fatter, as they disappeared over the horizon, leaving the rest of the league with little chance of ever challenging their increasing financial dominance!

Then out of the blue, a wealthy Russian Oligarch, Roman Abramovich, rolled into town to bankroll Chelsea & gatecrash the party! With the gravy train now under threat, the greedy little threesome convinced UEFA to increase the English allocation to 4 places! Phew disaster averted, onwards & upwards, no harm done...

That was until the "evil" Sheikh Mansour bought Manchester City with his unlimited "dirty oil money!"!

Now with UEFA unable or unwilling to accommodate this latest unwelcome guest at the top table, a new strategy was required to preserve the dominance of the established elite. Without further a do, the "Financial Fair Play" was conceived!

This had little to do with "fair play", turning a blind eye to debt ridden clubs & owners that systematically drained money out of the game! It was solely designed to stop wealthy owners investing in clubs & making them competitive; thus ensuring the lazy established elite remained unchallenged.

Undeterred by the bogus nature of these new constraints targeted at them & any future investors, Manchester City embarked on transforming the club, with initial investment to break the cartel & putting top quality people in place, off the field as well as on it.

In addition to breaking all records on the pitch, the club has now achieved commercial sustainability & delivered 4 years of profit. The club is now independently valued at over £2B (reportedly outstripping all the Premier League old-guard). This has shown a huge return on Sheikh Mansour's £1.2B investment & dispelling the lie of "financial doping".

So what do the owners of the established "European Royalty" do now? Up their game? Risk their own money to meet the challenge? No! They utilise their stooges in the media to try & discredit City's achievements & demand UEFA do "something" to derail Citys' progress!

Manchester City FC -
Centurions
Fourmidables
Champions of England (again)
FA Cup holders
League Cup holders
The best ran football club in the world!

Thank you Sheikh Mansour, thank you Kaldoon & Thank you Pep Guardiola.

 

[Grealish’s Shinpads]

It didn't stop Dan Roan.

The most damaging comments come from liberal journalists who in normal circumstances might defend City but whose natural antipathy towards our Emirati owner has led them to side with UEFA.

Perhaps some in City's fanbase will learn something about self-reliance and realise who their enemies are. Boycott the Guardian. They are one of the main opinion formers and Fleet St's only digital football arm.

Don’t think it’s liberal journalists so much as bitter scousers and rags