CAS to hear Man City Champions League ban appeal next month

Manchester City’s appeal against a two-year ban from European football will be heard over three days in June, the Court of Arbitration for Sport said yesterday, reports Associated Press.

CAS set aside June 8 to 10 for the case. It is unclear if a hearing will be held by video link or in person at the court in Lausanne, Switzerland.

No timetable was set for a verdict but a ruling is needed before English teams enter next season’s Champions League draw. The draw in Monaco is scheduled for August 27, but could be pushed back because of the fallout from the coronavirus pandemic.

Man City were banned by UEFA in February for “serious breaches” of financial monitoring rules and failing to cooperate with investigators. The English champions have been accused of deceiving UEFA in order to comply with Financial Fair Play regulations.

UEFA also fined Man City €30 million ($33m) after an investigation that was sparked by leaks of internal club correspondence published in November 2018 by German magazine Der Spiegel.

The emails and documents, likely obtained by hacking, appeared to show that City overstated sponsorship revenue and masked the source of revenue from deals tied to the club’s owners in the Abu Dhabi royal family.

The club has denied wrongdoing.

City failed with a previous appeal at CAS, which tried to block UEFA-appointed judges from taking on the case presented by club finance investigators. Three CAS judges ruled that appeal was not valid last November.

City are in second place behind runaway leader Liverpool in the Premier League. If a ban by UEFA is upheld, the fifth-place team is likely to take City’s place in the next Champions League.