However, after reviewing the club’s appeal, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) reversed the ban on Monday, declaring that the City had not violated the rules by disguising capital financing as sponsorship.
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp was one of many in the game who criticized the decision on Tuesday, arguing the importance of keeping FFP rules.
Leaving the framework, he said, could lead to a situation where the richest clubs owned by the wealthiest people dominate the sport.
“I don’t think yesterday was a good day for football, to be honest,” he said in a virtual press conference.
“FFP is a good idea. It is there to protect teams and competition so that no one spends too much and has to make sure that the money he wants to spend is based on the right sources.”
“It is not up to me to judge this and I do not, but I think this FFP framework should be followed.”
‘Shameful’
Despite the ban being lifted, it was decided that City had not cooperated with UEFA authorities and an original fine of € 30 million ($ 34 million) was reduced to € 10 million ($ 11.3 million).
Such a decision angered Tottenham manager José Mourinho, who said the latest ruling marked the end of the FFP rules as we know them.
“In any case, it is a shameful decision because if the City is not guilty, then they should not be punished with the fine,” he said in a virtual press conference.
“If you are not guilty, you should not be fined. If they are guilty, the decision is also an embarrassment and they should be thrown out of the competition. I don’t know if the City is guilty or not, but it is an embarrassing decision anyway.” .
“I think this will be the end of Financial Fair Play because it doesn’t make sense. I would like to see it being used appropriately.”
“Right now we are talking about Man City, but in the past other clubs were in a similar situation.”
“I think it is better to open the circus door and let everyone enjoy.”
An apology
The city has consistently declared its innocence since its ban in February, initially calling the UEFA process “flawed.”
Manager Pep Guardiola said the club was now very pleased to see the ban lifted, and suggested it deserved an apology from those who took the blame, especially rival Mourinho.
“Joseph [Mourinho] and all managers must know that we were damaged. We should apologize [to]”he said at a press conference on Tuesday.
“As I said many times, if we did something wrong, we will absolutely accept the decisions of UEFA and CAS because we did something wrong.”
“We have the right to defend ourselves when we believe that what we have done is correct, it is correct. Three independent judges said this.
“Yesterday was a good day for football because we played by the same FFP rules as all clubs in Europe. All of them. [If] if we break this FFP, we will be banned. “
City will now have a chance to play in next season’s Champions League, the only major trophy that eludes Guardiola during his time at the club.
In this season’s competition, City faces Real Madrid next month in the round of 16 by defeating Los Blancos 2-1 in the first leg. The winner of that tie will face either Lyon or Juventus in the quarterfinals.
Another turn in the acquisition of Newcastle
The Saudi government claims that Qatar-owned beIN Sport “abused its dominant position through various monopolistic practices.”
The decision to ban the broadcast means that there is no legitimate way for people in Saudi Arabia to view the EPL games, and it has caused even more confusion in the acquisition saga that has spanned months.
The hope was that the new owners would propel Newcastle to the top of English football, following the trend set by Chelsea and Manchester City, which were bought by billionaires.
.
