Tuesday, 6 May 2014

Manchester City facing Uefa Sanctions Over Finances

 Manchester City captain Vincent Company during his side's Champions League fixture against Barcelona at the Nou Camp

Manchester City and Paris St-Germain are facing fines in the region of €60m (£50m), restrictions on their Champions League squad size and a wage limit for failing Uefa financial fair play rules.


BBC Sport has learned the two - among nine clubs under examination by Uefa for failing the governing body's "break even" test - face similar penalties.

It is believed a Champions League squad reduction could see the clubs restricted to using anywhere between 18 and 21 players in Uefa's premier competition. A normal squad size is 25.

A wage cap could also be introduced on the errant clubs to ensure there is no rise on this season's squad wage bill for the Champions League. 

It is thought clubs have until Friday to agree a "settlement" with Uefa.

Failure to agree a deal would see a club referred to an adjudicatory panel in June where a non-negotiable penalty would be applied.

At that stage clubs could then seek a final appeal at the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Switzerland.
City manager Manuel Pellegrini sidestepped the sanctions issue at a news conference on Tuesday. He said: "When it is official news of Uefa we can analyse what happens with the team. In this moment we don't know what happens."

Under Uefa's FFP rules, clubs can lose no more than €45m (£37m) over the previous two seasons.
City posted combined losses of almost £149m for the past two seasons - £97m in 2012 and £51.6m in 2013.

Arsenal and Manchester United were in the black for the last two seasons, so they have nothing to fear from Uefa's financial fair play scheme.

Chelsea made a £49.4m loss last year but registered a £1.4m profit in 2012 so will comply with the new regulations.

Liverpool, who have lost £90m over the last two years but have not played in Europe this season, will not have to pass the FFP rules until next autumn.

Uefa introduced FFP because it fears many clubs are risking their futures by spending beyond their means, while Uefa president Michel Platini also believes the big spending of some clubs is ruining the game.

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