Governing Bodies
REVEALED! NINE PREMIER LEAGUE CLUBS WROTE CAS TO INDICT MAN CITY!
No fewer than nine English Premiership clubs wanted Manchester City to be banned from the UEFA Champions League.
The Court of Arbitration for Sport have revealed their reasons for overturning Manchester City’s Champions League ban and reducing their fine.
City were initially banned from European competition for two years after being deemed to have committed ‘serious breaches’ of UEFA’s club licensing and Financial Fair Play regulations, and fined £27million.
But earlier this month, CAS announced that City’s ban had been overturned and they were fined just £9m instead.
In the reasons behind CAS’s decision in a massive 92-page document, it was revealed on Tuesday:
- That nine Premier League clubs tried to persuade CAS to prevent Manchester City from overturning their Champions League ban.
- Manchester City showed ‘a blatant disregard’ of Financial Fair Play principles but were not proven to have broken the rules
- City’s failure to co-operate’ with FFP investigation is ‘a severe breach’ that was behind CAS’ decision to hand the club a €10million fine (£9m)
- CAS dismissed the main charges brought against Manchester City ‘must be dismissed’ as they were not established to the comfortable satisfaction of the panel
- Some charges were also dismissed because they were time barred
- Manchester City failed to provide ‘complete and accurate’ copies of the leaked emails published in the media
- CAS described this as ‘particularly serious’ because the ‘production thereof would have preempted any arguments of MCFC as to the authenticity’
City said a total of 5.5million emails had been stolen from them by a hacker, who was an extortionist. But UEFA’s case was only based on six emails – which CAS ruled them to be admissible evidence.
The nine Premier League clubs that tried to persuade CAS to prevent City avoiding their European ban, included the rest of the Big Six, Burnley, Wolves, Newcastle and Leicester.
The 92-page document also revealed that City sent nine lawyers to their Champions League ban court case against UEFA.
After City’s ban was lifted on July 13, CAS said: ‘Most of the alleged breaches reported by the Adjudicatory Chamber of the CFCB (UEFA’S Club Financial Control Body) were either not established or time-barred.
‘As the charges with respect to any dishonest concealment of equity funding were clearly more significant violations than obstructing the CFCB’s investigations, it was not appropriate to impose a ban on participating in UEFA’s club competitions for MCFC’s failure to cooperate with the CFCB’s investigations alone.’
UEFA initially launched a probe against City following the publication of hacked emails in the German media.
On February 14, they announced that City had broken the rules by overstating sponsorship revenue between 2012 and 2016. Along with the ban, City were fined £26.9m.
Ahead of their appeal, the Etihad outfit said they had ‘irrefutable evidence’ to support their case.
FIFA’s independent Ethics Committee has banned former Guyana Football Federation (GFF) General Secretary Ian Alves from all football-related activities for five years after finding he sexually harassed female staff members.
FIFA also fined Alves 20,000 Swiss francs ($22,000) after determining that he had breached provisions of the FIFA Code of Ethics relating to the protection of physical and mental integrity, abuse of position and general duties.
“FIFA has a strict stance against all forms of abuse in football,” the organisation said on Monday.
The decision followed a review of written statements from the victims, documents provided by the GFF, submissions from Alves, and other evidence gathered during the investigation.
Alves stepped down from his position in 2024.
The ban came into force on Monday, when the terms of the decision were notified to Alves, and the full grounds for the ruling will be communicated within 60 days in accordance with the Code of Ethics, FIFA added.
The GFF did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. Alves could not immediately be reached for comment.
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FIFA President Gianni Infantino said on Thursday that he planned to seek re-election for a fourth term in a bid to continue to lead the governing body of world soccer.
Infantino confirmed he would run for the 2027–2031 term in the closing moments of the FIFA Congress in Vancouver, which comes less than two months before the start of the World Cup.
The election will be held on March 18 in Morocco, which is set to co-host the 2030 World Cup.
Infantino said he was “honoured and humbled” to have the chance to run for a fourth term.
The Italian-Swiss took office in 2016, replacing Sepp Blatter, and was re-elected unopposed in 2019 and 2023.
Infantino has pushed for the expansion of FIFA competitions during his tenure, with this year’s World Cup in North America the first to feature 48 teams, while the women’s tournament in 2023 has been expanded to 32 teams.
Infantino’s tenure has also drawn some criticism over issues such as high World Cup ticket prices and the decision to award the inaugural FIFA Peace Prize to U.S. President Donald Trump at the World Cup draw in December.
Earlier this month, the council of South American football’s governing body (CONMEBOL) said in a statement it would unanimously support the 56-year-old if he decided to seek another term.
-Reuters
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The supporters of Vancouver Whitecaps, a professional football (soccer) club in Canada, have staged a protest outside the FIFA Congress on Thursday, voicing fears that the Major League Soccer club could be relocated as uncertainty deepens over its ownership and long-term future.
The club is one of Canada’s most historic football institutions and has long been a central part of Vancouver’s sporting identity.
Around 100 fans gathered as delegates arrived for the annual FIFA meeting in Vancouver, chanting, singing and waving club flags in a show of solidarity. The demonstration comes just days after Vancouver Whitecaps FC revealed difficulties in securing a buyer willing to keep the club in the city.
The Whitecaps disclosed earlier this week that “stadium economics, venue access and revenue limitations” have complicated efforts to sell the club, despite a 16-month search for new ownership.
Season ticket holder Derek Hawksworth said supporters felt compelled to act amid growing fears of relocation.
“I wanted to come down given the threat of the team possibly moving,” he said. “It’s a rich history with the Whitecaps in North America… we want Vancouver to stay and not relocate. The history is here, and we want to continue with that history moving forward.”
The Vancouver Whitecaps are a professional football (soccer) club based in Vancouver, Canada. They currently compete in Major League Soccer (MLS), the top-tier league in the United States and Canada.
Concerns were heightened by reports that cities such as Las Vegas and Phoenix are leading contenders should the club relocate.
Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim has urged intervention, calling on the provincial government — which owns BC Place — to negotiate a “bridge deal” that would allow the team to remain while plans for a new stadium are explored. The club’s current lease at BC Place expires at the end of the year.
Despite the off-field uncertainty, the Whitecaps have been one of the standout teams this MLS season. They currently sit second in the Western Conference with 24 points from nine matches, just three points behind the San Jose Earthquakes.
For supporters, however, performances on the pitch offer little comfort as the future of their club hangs in the balance — a situation they hope global football leaders gathering in Vancouver will not ignore.
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