Source: TheGuardian
Manchester City offer an olive branch as Uefa ponder their options | David Conn
Now the City case has gone to Cas, Uefa has the chance to weigh in on the CFCB’s decision. Ferran Soriano’s change of tone gives it something to ponderManchester City’s chief executive, Ferran Soriano, mostly repeated the club’s previous forthright statements when he gave his interview to the club’s TV platform on Wednesday, but the content was different in one particular area. As expected, he denied as “simply not true” the finding that the club seriously breached financial fair play rules by overstating its Abu Dhabi sponsorships between 2012 and 2016, for which City have been handed a two-year Champions League ban and €30m (£25m) fine. But suddenly, there were complimentary and diplomatic words for Uefa, contradicting City’s consistently ferocious anti-Uefa approach, and that provided a pointer to where the case is heading.In a very significant detail, as City appeal to the court of arbitration for sport (Cas), the process changes now. For all City’s previous rhetoric against Uefa, the guilty finding and sanction were not in fact reached by Uefa itself, but by its Club Financial Control Body (CFCB), which administers FFP compliance. Related: Time passes fast in football, so will Manchester City players want to stay? | Eni Aluko It is open to Uefa for the first time to reach a settlement, drop some of the issues, or seek a lighter punishment Related: Pep Guardiola vows to stay at City and back their fight against Uefa ban Continue reading......read full article
