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

[slbsn]

Thanks for your posts they're really useful for lots of blues in trying to understand whats been happening.

I couldn't see people risking their professional reputation to support 'an agenda' so my thoughts have always been as you say UEFA have an arguable case.

I know its difficult as a lot of the reasoning have not been released but at a best guess would you think the main arguments UEFA will put forward?

Cheers.

I suspect the core of UEFA's case is "look at the documents we have, we do not have every relevant document (because City did not provide them) but we do know City have mislead UEFA so the Settlement Agreement is not binding and time limits in the rules don't apply. If City had not mislead UEFA, UEFA would have sanctioned City more severely in 2014 and within the relevant time limits. City should not benefit from their own deception and concealment. The punishment itself is easily proportionate."

 

[KS55]

Its completely reasonable for any of the clubs to pressure UEFA to act. Its a competitive game. If UEFA has overreached in an unsupportable or baseless case, then City will win at CAS. I don't think its as simple as that. But perhaps I am being naive.

But if the purpose behind Uefa's action is to get G14 off their backs in pressing for a closed competition to repIace the CL......." We tried guys, we tried."

 

[KS55]

I've said it before and I'll say it again.....if the regulator is funded by tv rights for a competition it owns, that is a fundamental conflict of interest.

 

[slbsn]

But if the purpose behind Uefa's action is to get G14 off their backs in pressing for a closed competition to repIace the CL......." We tried guys, we tried."

Sure but its embarrassing to lose a hopeless case and potentially opens UEFA and the lobbying clubs to disclosures of behaviours they would prefer to keep private. Sanctioning City, then losing at CAS is hardly likely to stem any campaign for a breakaway. May even entrench the feeling that UEFA is hopeless.

 

[PannickAtTheDisco]

Not just the G14. Many clubs will have stuck their oar in - this is a competitive, commercial industry. But that pressure does not equate to convincing the AC of UEFA to sanction City with the flimsiest of cases that they know will be appealed at CAS (and beyond if need be). That makes no sense. The AC must, in my view, believe they have at least an arguable case.

Would that arguable case be based on what City have allowed them to see? Perhaps fearing the leaks, we've decided to take this out of UEFA to resolve it once and for all, and taken legal advice to create the conditions to do so, once the IC rushed the charge through?

 

[KS55]

Sure but its embarrassing to lose a hopeless case and potentially opens UEFA and the lobbying clubs to disclosures of behaviours they would prefer to keep private. Sanctioning City, then losing at CAS is hardly likely to stem any campaign for a breakaway. May even entrench the feeling that UEFA is hopeless.

It is!

 

[SilverFox2]

Sure but its embarrassing to lose a hopeless case and potentially opens UEFA and the lobbying clubs to disclosures of behaviours they would prefer to keep private. Sanctioning City, then losing at CAS is hardly likely to stem any campaign for a breakaway. May even entrench the feeling that UEFA is hopeless.

So why do you think City top brass are so optimistic?
Presumably our legal team will look at it from both sides.

 

[KS55]

Cheers.

I suspect the core of UEFA's case is "look at the documents we have, we do not have every relevant document (because City did not provide them) but we do know City have mislead UEFA so the Settlement Agreement is not binding and time limits in the rules don't apply. If City had not mislead UEFA, UEFA would have sanctioned City more severely in 2014 and within the relevant time limits. City should not benefit from their own deception and concealment. The punishment itself is easily proportionate."

Good argument, if true. But you would have to place huge reliance on those emails representing the action we finally took. Oh, here come the accounts...

 

[nmc]

This has always been at the nub for me. The audited accounts do not support the emails/documents or rather the emails conflict with the audit. This means that either the auditors have been mislead (a super serious situation and allegation) or the emails are only a partial picture and in any event do not represent where the legal routing of funds put the cash. UEFA can't show the accounts are fraudulent in the AC or CAS - its simply impossible. They have neither the access they need nor the time, witnesses, documents etc. Its not the correct forum for doing so.

So UEFA are left with somehow proving the emails (and anything else they have got) PROVE the accounts are incomplete. And CAS only need to consider this question if UEFA succeeds in showing:

1. UEFA is entitled to make determinations or to allege any breaches in respect of periods prior to the reporting period 2016-17, being periods covered by the 2014 Settlement Agreement;
2. UEFA is entitled to make determinations or to allege any breaches in respect of any time prior to 16 May 2014 being five years prior to the date of the Referral Decision; and
3. UEFA is entitled to make determinations or to allege any breaches of the UEFA CL&FFPR in respect of periods prior to the reporting period 2016-17, being outside of the current monitoring period.

So the hurdles seem big for UEFA but how has it got this far?

In context - if we had misrepresented our accounts - surely we'd have settled this as a 'technical breach' when UEFA offered us a way out. The implications for City, Abu Dhabi, the Sheikh and Etihad would be catastrophic if this was uncovered at CAS. I know we can never rule anything out but would Khaldoon really be as bullish as he is if he was sitting on what effectively is fraud? Just cant see it, there has to be another explanation.

 

[Ancient Citizen]

If it is a three day hearing and then a wait of two months for a verdict, how come Tolmie, Khaldoon and Soriano are so bullish?