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

[LucahArchie10]

Liverpool
Man Utd
Real Madrid
Barcelona
Juventus
Bayern Munich

Am I close? :-)

I would change Real & Juve with Arsenal & AC Milan

 

[meltonblue]

And? What's your point regarding the age. The Guardian printed an exclusive on the basis of this information arguing that the Etihad sponsorship was effectively state-backed sponsorship.

If the deal was worth c. US$640m and the UAE state were ultimate guarantors, what is the problem? You think that's somehow changed over time?

The problem remains though that UEFA AC must have had similar evidence before it and ignored it. That annoys me. We've got a highly questionable email trail that's been presented completely out of context and it seems to be taking primacy over much more authentic documentation but no one seems interested in the underlying arguments any more. I think they are assuming Sheikh mansour's guilt based on who he is and what he represents.

That it isn’t evidence, it was a leaked presentation that’s even more contentious than the emails are and that Etihad denied it at the time too. It’s actually counter productive as all that really proved was that they were trying to find ways to reduce Etihads liabilities at the time. There’s not a chance we would ever use that.

 

[toffee balls]

We're almost completely in the dark and anything we write is near total speculation. Some of the speculation is interesting and may turn out to be accurate: some of it (like assessing the importance of the influence of the breakfast of CAS reps on proceedings) most certainly isn't. So I'm going to add my two pennyworth to the speculation and hope its of a bit of value.

The publication of the stolen emails was a godsend for certain officials at UEFA because it gave them an excuse to reopen the question of City' s compliance with FFP in a period when we were felt to be most vulnerable. Many within UEFA and without felt Infantino had taken too soft a line and City had got away with it. I doubt that, when all is said and done, the emails will count for much but that may be some way down the line but they serve a purpose because they appear damning and appear to show City as "cheats". That impression is good enough for many whatever evidence City bring forward to the contrary; the majority believe they "know we're guilty" so the evidence is irrelevant. From the sound of it City have cooperated with AC and IC and furnished an impressive number of documents in support. The AC and IC have not necessarily ignored these documents in the sense of not even looking at them, but rather in the sense that they have accorded almost total importance to the "new" evidence, the stolen documents.

City are convinced that the reasons for this are "political", either in the sense that many at UEFA want to settle an old score with City, or that certain clubs are concerned that they cannot compete with City and are hoping to use FFP as they always have to destroy City's ability to compete with them ore, more sinisterly, because foreign powers are working to undermine City and thus Abu Dhabi. City's appeal will include details of sponsorship deals involving all the above interest groups presumably to show that City have done nothing which UEFA has found to be a violation of FFP when other clubs have done it. This brings together the twp prongs of City's defence, the claim that the evidence of wrongdoing is simply not there and the process which asserted that it was is hopelessly inconsistent.

Thanks for that , love reading your posts.

 

[fallowfield]

Is your source an anonymous poster on Twitter by chance?

This whole thing has lent itself to some mad theories.
A very normal guy near me v West Ham last week.
I've spoken to him many times & he's always seemed completely sane.
Last Weds he was spitting and stumbling over his words with absolute certainty about some guy he knows working in Qatar - and this whole UEFA thing is related to the Iranian dissident who was killed by the Saudi's, and Qatar plotting to get one up on the UAE and how it will all come out any day now because the FBI were investigating and City would be in the clear.

Am thinking of moving season ticket location for next season now.

 

[blueyorkie]

It's not the football podcast, it's one that covers news items from around the world.

Tim Vickery used to do pieces on Guardian podcast hosted by James Richardson

 

[blue oli]

This whole thing has lent itself to some mad theories.
A very normal guy near me v West Ham last week.
I've spoken to him many times & he's always seemed completely sane.
Last Weds he was spitting and stumbling over his words with absolute certainty about some guy he knows working in Qatar - and this whole UEFA thing is related to the Iranian dissident who was killed by the Saudi's, and Qatar plotting to get one up on the UAE and how it will all come out any day now because the FBI were investigating and City would be in the clear.

Am thinking of moving season ticket location for next season now.

Bollox, for a start that’s outside of the FBIs field of play completely.

 

[BLUEMATT23]

What I find truly baffling is why we allow the press to write such virol stuff about us on a daily basis?
Why are they not taking these journos to court or banning them from the stadium?
Our PR dept is shocking.

 

[Kazzydeyna]

I haven’t chosen not to believe it, I’ve said that that might not be enough. Unless they also showed Uefa Etihads and ADUGs books (which I can’t imagine for a second they did) then I’m not sure how it can be irrefutable.

I’ve chosen to believe exactly what the owners have not just told Uefa but told me as a fan too throughout. In terms of Uefa, I couldn’t care less to be honest and if our main defence is going to be around the process itself then I’m fine with that. I personally still want to know the owners haven’t lied to me as a fan too though.

There is no requirement in law for Etihad to show Uefa their books. None.

There is a requirement in law for their books (and ours) to be INDEPENDENTLY audited. They have been and they have been signed off.

If the auditors say Etihad paid the sponsorship fee from their books then Etihad paid the sponsorship fee from their books.

That is inarguable. Or irrefutable.

And City's owners don't owe you or me one word of explanation. If you want to believe the club is being in any way disingenuous that is up to you.

I prefer to believe people who have done everything they promised me they would do and more. If you want to doubt them that's up to you.

 

[BlueMoonz1977]

What I find truly baffling is why we allow the press to write such virol stuff about us on a daily basis?
Why are they not taking these journos to court or banning them from the stadium?
Our PR dept is shocking.

the question needs to be asked by someone at the official supporters club directly to a club official - the state at which we are getting attacked is probably beyond repair now though

 

[BLUEMATT23]

the question needs to be asked by someone at the official supporters club directly to a club official - the state at which we are getting attacked is probably beyond repair now though

Yes exactly its horrible.
It shouldn't have done but it affected me last week to the extent I didn't go to the west ham game and I'm even thinking about handing my season card in and fucking football off.
I believe we are innocent but this and VAR injustices have made me fall out of love with the game at the moment.
Maybe that's the masterplan of the authorities I'm not sure.

 

[meltonblue]

There is no requirement in law for Etihad to show Uefa their books. None.

There is a requirement in law for their books (and ours) to be INDEPENDENTLY audited. They have been and they have been signed off.

If the auditors say Etihad paid the sponsorship fee from their books then Etihad paid the sponsorship fee from their books.

That is inarguable. Or irrefutable.

And City's owners don't owe you or me one word of explanation. If you want to believe the club is being in any way disingenuous that is up to you.

I prefer to believe people who have done everything they promised me they would do and more. If you want to doubt them that's up to you.

And as I said earlier, I thought that was exactly what we’d done in terms of the evidence that we’ve given. Both can be true at the same time though, which is what my concern is.

 

[BlueMoonz1977]

Yes exactly its horrible.
It shouldn't have done but it affected me last week to the extent I didn't go to the west ham game and I'm even thinking about handing my season card in and fucking football off.
I believe we are innocent but this and VAR injustices have made me fall out of love with the game at the moment.
Maybe that's the masterplan of the authorities I'm not sure.

don’t let them grind you down. That is what they want to achieve. What is happening now is part of the plan to destroy what has been built. Uefa and it’s cabal via sanctions and the media will (as they are doing) publicly ridicule and print negative after negative articles on our club to drive the fans away

it started getting me down at one point till I understood what they were trying to achieve

fuck them all, stand shoulder to shoulder and wear our badge with pride.

they ain’t driving me away, don’t let them win by making you stop

 

[blueparrot]

What I find truly baffling is why we allow the press to write such virol stuff about us on a daily basis?
Why are they not taking these journos to court or banning them from the stadium?
Our PR dept is shocking.

Probably because we are run by a serious professional group that see a big picture, and aren’t as knee jerk as some fans or posters on a football forum. I’m happy for them to do what they think is best.

 

[BLUEMATT23]

Probably because we are run by a serious professional group that see a big picture, and aren’t as knee jerk as some fans or posters on a football forum. I’m happy for them to do what they think is best.

Possibly but I still maintain as do others that the PR dept is poor.

 

[Norbert D]

Possibly but I still maintain as do others that the PR dept is poor.

got to say I think our PR is piss poor, there seems little or no understanding of how things work in England, the political side is huge, you need to cultivate it, but City always seem destined to play into the hands of our enemies. Even little things like the fact we haven’t sorted out the North Stand lower tier, it’s a free hit every time the weather is shit because no parent in their right mind will have their kids getting soaked especially in mid week. It’s a free hit week after fucking week, empty seats! Even if they have been sold. Referees are another reason we should have worked on, Fergie used to invite them to training on the pretext of them explaining new rules, in reality he would be charming them and making sure they played ball, do City have the nous to do something similar? I doubt it, instead it’s whinging but doing fuck all about it.

 

[Manchester1894]

This whole thing has lent itself to some mad theories.
A very normal guy near me v West Ham last week.
I've spoken to him many times & he's always seemed completely sane.
Last Weds he was spitting and stumbling over his words with absolute certainty about some guy he knows working in Qatar - and this whole UEFA thing is related to the Iranian dissident who was killed by the Saudi's, and Qatar plotting to get one up on the UAE and how it will all come out any day now because the FBI were investigating and City would be in the clear.

Am thinking of moving season ticket location for next season now.

This made me laugh more than it should have, was this him?

 

[Manchester_lalala]

What I find truly baffling is why we allow the press to write such virol stuff about us on a daily basis?
Why are they not taking these journos to court or banning them from the stadium?
Our PR dept is shocking.

In the long run, City want us to be one of the good guys. Starting a war with these journalist isn’t on their agenda. That’s what I think anyway.

 

[Norbert D]

Got to agree with the scouse donuts, City should be stripped of all honours back to 1976, Dennis Tuearts overhead kick clearly breached FFP and brought shame to this once great small club. The studs in his boots could have killed someone because Der Spiegel have just revealed they were radio active, secret radiation blips designed to put off the Toon defenders worked a treat and City should be shut down and everything bulldozed for a mile radius.

sorry but rules are rules and Tueart and City on,y have themselves to blame, just ask Arsen packet of sweets Wenger.

 

[Blue Theatre]

Yes exactly its horrible.
It shouldn't have done but it affected me last week to the extent I didn't go to the west ham game and I'm even thinking about handing my season card in and fucking football off.
I believe we are innocent but this and VAR injustices have made me fall out of love with the game at the moment.
Maybe that's the masterplan of the authorities I'm not sure.

I think we all understand how you feel, but this is exactly what our enemies (I dont think that's too strong a word now) want.

Now is most definitely the time for all City fans to stick together and support the club to the hilt.

 

[Norbert D]

don’t let them grind you down. That is what they want to achieve. What is happening now is part of the plan to destroy what has been built. Uefa and it’s cabal via sanctions and the media will (as they are doing) publicly ridicule and print negative after negative articles on our club to drive the fans away

it started getting me down at one point till I understood what they were trying to achieve

fuck them all, stand shoulder to shoulder and wear our badge with pride.

they ain’t driving me away, don’t let them win by making you stop

just beat em on the head, beat em on the head, beat em on the head with a baseball bat oh yeah oh yeah