Feb 26, 2020 at 11:15 am ET • 1 min read
Manchester City has officially filed an appeal of its Champions League ban to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), the court announced Wednesday ahead of City's UCL match against Real Madrid. Manchester City was banned for two seasons from UEFA competition (Champions League and Europa League) and fined €30 million for breaking Financial Fair Play rules on Feb. 14.
The punishment came after an investigation into the English club, and the ban starts next season with the club having be found to have misled the European governing body over its Etihad sponsorship. Last week City CEO Ferran Soriano said the allegations that the club broke rules are "simply not true."
Here's the official word from CAS on the appeal:
The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has registered an appeal filed by Manchester City football club against the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA).
The appeal is directed against the decision of the Adjudicatory Chamber of the UEFA Club Financial Control Body (CFCB) dated 14 February 2020 in which Manchester City was deemed to have contravened UEFA's Club Licensing and Financial Fair Play Regulations and sanctioned with exclusion from the next two seasons of UEFA club competitions for which the club would qualify and ordered to pay a fine of 30 million euros.
Following the hearing, the Panel deliberates and then issues its decision in the form of an Arbitral Award.
Soriano said the club is looking for an early resolution, aiming to have this resolved by the summer, though the court made it clear that there is no timetable.
"It is not possible to indicate at this time when a final award in this matter will be issued," the statement read.
Coach Pep Guardiola said he wants to stay on with the club no matter the result of the appeal. City is currently in second place in the Premier League and is likely to finish in the top four of the league, meaning the team would be qualify for the Champions League next season if it wins the appeal.
City is facing Real Madrid in the round of 16 during this season's UCL competition.
CBS Sports Writer
Roger Gonzalez is an award-winning writer based in Virginia that has covered pro soccer from Europe's top clubs to Argentina's first division. Roger started out his pro soccer writing career with Goal.com covering South American soccer while living in Buenos Aires, Argentina. At CBS Sports, Roger aims to share with sports fans all of the top news and moments that the beautiful game bestows to the world.