Manchester City are alleged to have clocked up more than 100 breaches of the competition rules during a 14-year-period in which they have won the Premier League six times - including four of the last five.
It comes after the Blues were temporarily expelled from the Champions League by UEFA for breaching their Financial Fair Play regulations back in 2019. However, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) ruled a year later that the club did not disguise equity funding as sponsorship contributions - but that City did fail to co-operate with UEFA authorities.
In 2020, CAS overturned a two-year ban from European football and €30million fine that were imposed upon City. It meant that City were free to play in UEFA competitions, and were instead fined €10m for failing to cooperate.
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CAS' initial statement appeared to suggest that some alleged breaches were "not established" and others were "time-barred" - but what did it all mean for City? MEN Sport looked what happened and why the two-year ban was eventually overturned...
What exactly were Man City accused of doing?
In 2014, City breached FFP rules and the club were punished by UEFA. The Blues reached a settlement agreement with UEFA, but the case was reopened in 2018 following revelations published in the German magazine Der Spiegel.
The "Football Leaks" documents alleged that City's owners got related parties - such as Etihad Airways - to sign inflated sponsorship deals. It was alleged that they then directed money to said parties, before then receiving the money back as "sponsorship".
What was CAS's ruling?
In February 2020, City were slapped with a two-year ban from European football and a €30m fine. However, the Blues insisted that they would be vindicated by an independent judicial body. A year later, CAS overturned the ban for breaching UEFA's Financial Fair Play (FFP) regulations and failing to cooperate with an investigation by the governing body of European football's Club Financial Control Body (CFCB).
As a result, the club were free to compete in UEFA competitions, but were fined €10m for failing to cooperate.
Who makes up CAS?
As per their own website, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) is an "institution independent of any sports organization which provides for services in order to facilitate the settlement of sports-related disputes through arbitration or mediation by means of procedural rules adapted to the specific needs of the sports world."
CAS, created in 1984, has nearly 300 arbitrators from 87 countries. It is, essentially, a list of judges, of whom three are picked to hear a specific case. One is appointed by the plaintiff, one by the defendant and one by CAS itself. All parties agree to be bound by the verdict.
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