Man City to learn European fate on Monday

Lausanne (AFP) – Manchester City will discover the result of their appeal against a two-year ban from UEFA competitions on Monday, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) announced Friday.

City were banned by UEFA and handed a 30 million euro ($34 million, £27 million) fine for allegedly overstating sponsorship revenue to hide that they had not complied with financial fair-play (FFP) rules between 2012 and 2016.

The English side steadfastly refuted the allegations and a three-day hearing on the case was held by videoconference last month.

“The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) will announce the decision taken in the arbitration procedure between Manchester City Football Club and the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) on Monday, 13 July 2020,” CAS said in a statement.

CAS added that the decision would be announced at 10:30 am local time (0830 GMT).

City hold an 11-point lead over fifth-placed Manchester United in the Premier League and need just one win from their remaining four games of the season to be sure of Champions League qualification.

But, if their ban is upheld or only reduced to one season, whoever finishes fifth will take their Champions League spot.

No matter the outcome of the appeal, City will be able to complete their 2019/20 Champions League campaign.

They hold a 2-1 lead over Real Madrid after the first leg of the last 16 and host the Spanish giants on August 7 in the return match.

The tournament will be concluded with a ‘Final 8’ event in Lisbon, with City to face either Juventus or Lyon in the quarter-finals if they get past Real.