John Wayne
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- 9 Mar 2007
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And our response would be "prove it"
Which is exactly right. In the open forum of a tribunal, it would be alleged that funding provided by Etihad was in fact sourced via a private wealth fund set up by the club's ownership. The evidence against us appears to be a number of historical emails about which nobody knows the context in which they were sent. The club's ownership would deny that the funding provided by Etihad was sourced from the private wealth fund. It would be argued that the emails were never acted upon after regard was given to the rules. UEFA would then ask Etihad to provide accounting evidence relating to how they are able to operate as a commercial entity. Etihad, in no uncertain terms, would decline the request. The tribunal would find that UEFA have been unable to secure meaningful evidence about how Etihad funds its commercial enterprises. The tribunal would find that such information goes way beyond the remit of an organisation whose job it is to regulate European football. The tribunal would find that UEFA reached a settlement over the same matter several years earlier. The action brought against Manchester City would therefore be comprehensively defeated.