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What's the story?
According to reports by Sky Sports, Manchester City could be facing a ban from the UEFA Champions League following today's announcement from UEFA that the Financial Fair Play (FFP) investigation into the club is being referred to the Club Financial Control Body (CFCB) adjudicatory chamber.
The adjudicatory chamber renders decisions independently on the basis of the findings of the investigatory chamber and what this means for City is that UEFA has found merit into the allegations of financial irregularities in the club's transfer policies.
In case you didn't know...
In a story first broken by the New York Times, English FA authorities and UEFA had opened an investigation earlier this year to delve into allegations of Financial Fair Play irregularities at Manchester City, claims vehemently denied by the club.
City's transfer policies have come under the scanner with the club's billionaire owner Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed al-Nahyan, brother of the head of state of the United Arab Emirates, infusing billions to build a squad that has won four Premier League titles since the ownership change in 2009.
The heart of the matter
The investigatory chamber of UEFA’s financial control board, constituted to 'analyze the accounts of clubs suspected of breaking strict cost-control regulations' had concluded their investigations two weeks ago in Nyon, Switzerland. It is their findings that are now being referred to the adjudicatory chamber. The chamber’s chief investigator, Former Prime Minister of Belgium Yves Leterme, has passed on recommendations to the adjudicatory chamber, but the statement did not confirm if they have suggested a Champions League ban for City
"The Club Financial Control Body (CFCB) chief investigator, after having consulted with the other members of the independent investigatory chamber of the CFCB, has today decided to refer Manchester City FC to the CFCB adjudicatory chamber following the conclusion of his investigation. The CFCB investigatory chamber had opened an investigation into Manchester City FC on March 7, 2019 for potential breaches of Financial Fair Play (FFP) regulations that were made public in various media outlets. UEFA will not be making any further comment on the matter until a decision is announced by the CFCB adjudicatory chamber."
What's next?
It is not clear if any Champions League ban, if imposed on City, would be implemented next season or in the 2020-21 season. Qualification games for next season’s Champions League are set to begin in June, giving UEFA a very short timeframe to finalize the ban, which if imposed can be appealed at the Court of Arbitration for Sport by City.
