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

[Pell]

CAS members

Who we picking, who UEFA picking & CANo. Name Country
1. Abdullah Al Hayyan

Kuwait
2. Tjasa Andrée-Prosenc

Slovenia
3. Patrick Baumann Switzerland
4. Scott Blackmun

United States
5. Alexandra Brilliantova

Russia
6. Miguel Cardenal Carro

Spain
7. John D. Coates

Australia
8. Moya Dodd

Australia
9. Nabil Elaraby

Egypt
10. Ivo Eusebio

Switzerland
11. Michael Lenard

United States
12. Carole Malinvaud

France
13. Yvonne Mokgoro

South Africa
14. Ellen Gracie Northfleet

Brazil
15. Göran Petersson

Sweden
16. Dick Pound

Canada
17. Corinne Schmidhauser

Switzerland
18. Tricia C.M. Smith

Canada
19. Wilhelmina Thomassen

Netherlands
20. Hanqin Xue

China
21. Matthieu Reeb

Switzerland
22. Meles Zenawi Ethiopia

Dick Pound. What a name.

 

[paulchapo]

That’s where I am mate. To win we need a level playing field. That doesn’t seem to exist if you are on the wrong side of the establishment.

There is a very old saying but it is still true to this day. You can't beat the system. Many try and very few succeed. This holds true to football as well. It is is against the whole system, it is a massive fight to try and win.

 

[paulchapo]

We can absolutely fight this fight by supporting our club with every breath that we have.

We can't. We can chant, make banners, boo the anthem, attack UEFA officials, protest until we are blue in the face bit it won't make a jot of difference to the outcome, that will be settled in court.

 

[nmc]

Just got home from my morning coffee and read PB's posts from this morning. I still think, as I posted last night, that CAS will overturn the AC's decision on procedural grounds and in that sense we'll "escape". But, as PB pointed out, the mud will stick and City will not accept this. City have already demanded damages in their submission to CAS and the mud can only increase the sums in question. Whether CAS can deal with this matter other than on and ad hoc "let's compromise" basis seems to me highly unlikely. City, their sponsors and their accountants will have to go to the ECJ for a ruling that the finances of football clubs are regulated by the same laws as any other enterprise. This may well shine a light on the very murky manoeuvrings behind the introduction of FFP and the cartel ends it has been put to since. I think the "break even principle" will not survive even the most cursory attention from the ECJ.

That’s a good call - as a few people have said we need to move one step at a time. Go to CAS... get this ridiculous decision overturned which, is clearly “grandstanding” from the “elite”. Once that’s done we can move on to the Swiss Courts for damages and compensation and hopefully seriously dent UEFAs coffers - maybe fatally! Simultaneously we should go to the ECJ and attempt to bring down both FFP and the whole culture of protectionism/ restrictive practice at UEFA. Once the CAS decision is overturned we can move through the legal processes whilst still participating in UEFAs shitty competition. I’m personally optimistic about the future... this will take time.... but real change can be achieved and the ‘shit tip’ that is UEFA can be systematically dismantled.

 

[Interista]

Just wanted to let you guys know you're not alone. What UEFA is doing and has been doing for years is disgusting, inherently corrupt and is destroying football. Sport without competitivity isn't worthwhile and UEFA seem hell bent on eradicating any form of competitiveness (except where it favours their "chosen few"). They've already destroyed football in Italy by crippling us, Inter, with their sanctions and once they were done with us and we got on something approaching an even foot again, they've hunted down and are hunting down Milan (how interesting that UEFA never took the slightest interest in seeing that Juventus were punished for calciopoli or in pursuing a suitable punishment instead of the ridiculously flimsy penalty that was handed down).

It's not that the clubs they've gone after haven't compromised the rules so much as that the rules are compromised themselves. An example from Serie A, Juventus win it every year so their prize money is huge. That allows them to invest more money which increases their dominance (and lets not kid ourselves, we all know who is going to win the scudetto again this year, and the next, and the next...) which allows them to invest even more money ad infinitum. Financial Fair Play has been set up by a cartel of clubs and those in cahoots with these clubs. UEFA as anyone with even a cursory knowledge of football knows is inherently corrupt. UEFA pontificating about morals and dishing out punishments? That's like taking lessons in morality from Jimmy Saville.

I have firmly believed from day one that UEFA's FFP rules were eminently challengeable in a legal context. In what other business can you tell somebody that they can't invest their own money to grow a project??? The way City have been run since your current owners came in has been exemplary. They speculated to accumulate, an age old business practice, and having done so wisely and astutely are reaping deserved rewards. That a mafia-like organisation like UEFA is now sticking its nose in because they don't like "the new kids on the block" (and I use that term with tongue firmly in cheek; City have always been a massive club and similarly to Inter, unlike other clubs like Liverpool, United, Juventus, your and our fans don't only turn up when the team is winning).

I always hoped we would try to fight UEFA but we were in a mess because of the Moratti-Thohir-Suning ownership saga and by the time Suning came in, I think they felt it was better to just get FFP out of the way and build. I genuinely think your owners however are savvy, wealthy, well-connected, intelligent and committed enough to be the club which finally takes UEFA down from its pedestal. I have nothing but respect for Manchester City, your owners and your project and I hope as much as you do that you manage to give UEFA a bloody nose over this. If they get away with it this time, I shudder to think what the future holds for football. Whilst United are riddled with debt, Juventus have posted debt on the Irish stock exchange for the last couple of years, UEFA are targetting a club which seriously has its house in order and is a shining example for how to run a football club.

Best of luck and I will be supporting you every step of the way.

Forza City!

 

[Ohrodneyrodney]

We can't. We can chant, make banners, boo the anthem, attack UEFA officials, protest until we are blue in the face bit it won't make a jot of difference to the outcome, that will be settled in court.

Ok just stay at home waiting for the outcome then.

 

[nmc]

The story about Pinto is not why he hacked documents. He did it for financial gain and made millions till he was caught. The real issue is why out of 70 million documents (one of the biggest hacks ever in data history) a handful of emails at Manchester City is the only story in town for the media. All the other nuggets: The Ronaldo rape allegations; United paying Pogba off books using an image right vehicle; United making huge payments to agents and player family members; Sergio Ramos's failed dope test after the Cl final; and a mountain of allegations about PSG and Monaco have just faded into obscurity.

Makes you wonder who’s behind the leaks?

 

[MillisleBlue]

Been a blinding 24hrs for our enemies but it's a long road that has no turning.

 

[The Stockport Iniesta]

Get slated for this, but if a pinch was on offer should we not have took it.

We’d have been home free and could have concentrated on moving forward with next season.

Time will tell I suppose and maybe they just had enough of UEFA

Until the next time. We have to finish this.

 

[bitterfuse]

Dick Pound. What a name.

Think I've seen one of his films

 

[sutty66]

they banned us from europe
but we don’t give a fuck
we are Man City
we’ll win every domestic cup
allez allez allez

 

[kaz7]

I’m not convinced we’re adamant that we are not guilty more adamant that UEFA can’t prove us guilty.

Maybe we’ve just decided we would look week to take it, I just would rather be sitting here with less prize money and a squad limitation, especially given they would have no right to limit spending as it relates to so far in the past.

Could be a mix of the two,every business does creative accounting,if it's more than that then fair cop,i just think we have never been wanted,we have swept them all aside,the 2 history clubs are pushing hard with people at every level,they want us gone,would they take this action about either of them? of course not,as i said before one of us is going down,the line has been drawn,i just hope we land on the right side of it
It hasn't half got the blood pumping though,this anda cup final.let's 'ave it !

 

[davek1808]

Get slated for this, but if a pinch was on offer should we not have took it.

We’d have been home free and could have concentrated on moving forward with next season.

Time will tell I suppose and maybe they just had enough of UEFA

Until the next pinch or the one after that? Where do you draw the line? No we've took the only viable option left to us.

 

[Tricky_Trev]

CAS members

Who we picking, who UEFA picking & CANo. Name Country
1. Abdullah Al Hayyan

Kuwait
2. Tjasa Andrée-Prosenc

Slovenia
3. Patrick Baumann Switzerland
4. Scott Blackmun

United States
5. Alexandra Brilliantova

Russia
6. Miguel Cardenal Carro

Spain
7. John D. Coates

Australia
8. Moya Dodd

Australia
9. Nabil Elaraby

Egypt
10. Ivo Eusebio

Switzerland
11. Michael Lenard

United States
12. Carole Malinvaud

France
13. Yvonne Mokgoro

South Africa
14. Ellen Gracie Northfleet

Brazil
15. Göran Petersson

Sweden
16. Dick Pound

Canada
17. Corinne Schmidhauser

Switzerland
18. Tricia C.M. Smith

Canada
19. Wilhelmina Thomassen

Netherlands
20. Hanqin Xue

China
21. Matthieu Reeb

Switzerland
22. Meles Zenawi Ethiopia

We’d better not pick Patrick Baumann as he’s been dead for 16 months.

 

[WRicko]

CAS is only the first step. Re-read the city statement again. Very clear that we're prepared to challenge UEFA, and indeed FFP and the damages, legally in court outside of a sporting environment. Do UEFA think FFP wills hold up in court? I think we're going to find out soon enough.

Even if we win at CAS, I don't think that is the end of it. How can we in the future play by the rules of an organisation that has sought us out for special retribution? We need to hurt them.

Interesting to read the rumours that Ceferin wanted us to accept the pinch again to avoid a ban. Likely he knew we were serious in our statements to fight it and wanted to avoid UEFA's name being dragged through the mud, but if there is any chance at all that it was fuelled by fear their process and decision, and indeed the evidence itself, was lacking, then I hope we were sensible enough to document all contact.

This will be fought. It will get messy. I still fail to see on what basis UEFA think they have more evidence to take further action.

Must be a discussion ongoing now at city as to whether we can provide the full emails purported to have been hacked, for CAS. If they clearly were misinterpreted, as our original statement suggested, then could be a relatively quick and embarrassing decision at CAS, for UEFA. Because not once have UEFA seemingly asked us for those emails in full. The released hack, handled via an unnamed and unknowingly motivated source, was seemingly enough at face value. We could rightly deny any knowledge of he emails, counter that possibly UEFA themselves concocted them.

As far as I know, there is no evidence we sent those emails, even if they have the right names of the employees. They could have been doctored, completely falseified, did UEFA check? Nope. Strange, that. Almost as if the evidence was not actually something they wanted to dwell on.

Honestly, if CAS is truly impartial, then this ban just can't be enforced. It's based off an excerpt of an unverified source, shoved into the right sized shape to fit Leterme's pre-existing will to see Manchester City punished by UEFA.

Are we sure that they never asked for or got the whole lot of emails not heard that before and not sure how anyone outside of the selct few would know

 

[nmc]

The only way we will be in the chumps league next season is if they somehow we can suspend the punishment pending the appeal, hence the harsh punishment of two seasons ban. If we win the appeal we will probably still have had a season out of the competition due to the time that CAS will take to hear the case. This was probably UEFA’s strategy all along.

If that is the case they’d have to compensate us !

 

[nmc]

We’d better not pick Patrick Baumann as he’s been dead for 16 months.

There’s a good chance UEFA might pick him ?

 

[paulchapo]

Ok just stay at home waiting for the outcome then.

Okay Billy big bollocks educate me. What are you doing and what can I and the rest of us do to get this overturned?

 

[Tricky_Trev]

There’s a good chance UEFA might pick him ?

Fingers crossed!

 

[DRINKLEVEDRY]

Look I have been going since 1968 and followed us all over the country. I kept my season ticket going in the eighties even though I lived in Kent at the time and missed loads of games through work. I have certainly fought on the terraces, streets and train stations/coach parks also in my time. Not because I was a hooligan or hard nut but because back in the day it was a price you paid following your club, particularly away.

I have booed the EUFA anthem, argued our case online and in pubs but I can't fight this fight, neither can any blue here. It is out of our hands and in the hands of our legal team and the courts. All we can do is watch and wait.

Yes chappo we watch and wait,and when we win this we shouldn't stop at just getting it overturned we should go for the blood of every bastard involved.