According to today's Guardian the club have now said they have provided "comprehensive proof" of their innocence of the allegations. There also seems to be some pushback from the club now with the tone changing significantly. The club have said:
According to the Guardian, the club have upped the ante a bit with their response to the NYT article -
"Responding to a report in the New York Times on Monday that the IC is set to recommend City being banned from the Champions League, the club issued a strongly worded statement saying they have provided proof that the allegations are false.
This would be presumed to include further internal financial evidence and an explanation of the emails. The statement protested that the IC process itself has been the subject of leaks. “Manchester City FC is fully cooperating in good faith with the CFCB IC’s ongoing investigation,” the statement said.
“In doing so the club is reliant on both the CFCB IC’s independence and commitment to due process; and on Uefa’s commitment of the 7th of March that it … will make no further comment on the matter while the investigation is ongoing.
“The New York Times report citing ‘people familiar with the case’ is therefore extremely concerning. The implications are that either Manchester City’s good faith in the CFCB IC is misplaced or the CFCB IC process is being misrepresented by individuals intent on damaging the club’s reputation and its commercial interests. Or both.
“Manchester City’s published accounts are full and complete and a matter of legal and regulatory record. The accusation of financial irregularities are entirely false, and comprehensive proof of this fact has been provided to the CFCB IC.”
A statement from Uefa said: “We do not comment on ongoing investigations regarding financial fair play matters.”
The tone of this statement is completely different from the reserved tone of previous comments (by the way, I like the "or both"). The club have clearly been angered by the way this investigation is being handled. You can see how this could get very dirty if allowed to do so. But far more interesting is the statement that CFCB IC have been given "comprehensive proof" - well, proof is proof so I'll be intrigued to see how this bit pans out. Also, the Guardian's comment about "an explanation of the emails" - well, at the start the club said that the leaked emails were out of context so the Guardian's supposition would fit with the earlier statement, and there may be other emails not leaked that neutralise the "incriminating" ones.
Anyway, I'm going to watch Villa and the Baggies which should be a bit more exciting than this stuff.