I totally agree. To me in a way FFP made that situation even more durable because the have won't be caught by the have not anytime soon.
Football Leaks: Manchester City accused of using shadow firms to flout rules
- Thread starter Damien
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I agree.
I was simply replying to someone who stated Leicester broke FFP rules as if its a justification for City to do so in this instance and not be punished. So if this is indeed an instance of them doing so then they should be investigated and punished if found guilty (seems highly likely they would be if investigated)
Water is wet.
And the leaks put them in trouble with at least FIFA too, the main story in France is the one that link them with a fund that is/was supposed to help them fund and hide third part ownerships. I only saw reports but it seems that this side of the story is at the same time against UEFA, FFP and FIFA rules.
Remember in our period of dominance/ at the beginning of the Arab takeover City fans would refer to the FA/ UEFA as 'bent'?
Ironic that it is these very 'bent' institutions that are allowing them to thrive and prosper with little to no consequences. They should in fact be grateful to them.
Ironic that it is these very 'bent' institutions that are allowing them to thrive and prosper with little to no consequences. They should in fact be grateful to them.
Champions league ban for 3 years would be a good start. None of these "reduced squad" nonsense that PSG had when they were "punished".
City were also docked a CL squad place a few years ago.
I think “be grateful” is a bit optimistic but I do agree that UEFA could have been more vehement in their treatment of City and PSG when Platini was in charge.
It remains to be seen if they have more stomach for a fight this time but my expectation will be that a compromise will be found between the parties involved.
"You carry on and we'll do nothing", that kind of compromise?
Based on what we know the first compromise will be to not put PSG and City in the same category, City seem to be at a different level of crookery.
For me, the obvious punishment would be for PSG to be thrown out of the Champions League this year. Prior to Wednesday of course.
I mean we were both crooks about it, let's be honest. City's crookery appears to have been a bit more subtle than your Qatar Tourism Authority deal :-)
You see the irony in your post and realise that half the FFP rules were designed exactly to hinder City in the first place, right?
Great post, agree with all of it. Those first two issues you mention, in particular, lead to smaller clubs requiring outside investment (sugar daddies if you prefer) to compete. Yet FFP has focused on the problem of sugar daddies but not the underlying issues that cause sugar daddies to be required.
I absolutely wish City had grown from mid/lower table fodder to the team we are today through organic means, rather than due to ADUG, likely via a Class of 92 style crop of youngsters. But I don't think that would ever have been possible. More likely, the youngsters would've broken into our first team and then got picked off by the big boys with deeper pockets and regular CL to offer them.
Therein lies your problem.
‘fecking hope so, I'd love it if a Saudi/UAE military coalition carpet bombed UEFA headquarters. Could make the atmosphere in the executive box on CL nights a little tense though, although I'm sure we'd provide specialist seating for the amputees and have a little memorial for those lost.’
Direct quote from a Bluemoon freak - they’re literally warped Islamists. Only a matter of time before they start attacking journos for reporting the truth. Their loyalty to an tyrannical regime is nauseating - all in exchange for hollow ‘success’.
Direct quote from a Bluemoon freak - they’re literally warped Islamists. Only a matter of time before they start attacking journos for reporting the truth. Their loyalty to an tyrannical regime is nauseating - all in exchange for hollow ‘success’.
True.
I’d be surprised if nothing was done.
Khaldoon al Mubarak (City’s Chairman) uses the phrase “taking the pinch” and I would imagine that’s what he’s likely to accept.
If the pinch were to become a KO punch then the gloves would come off.
I'm not a fan of PSG. And there is a massive difference between openly and directly offer inflated sponsorship(300m per year) that will be reviewed and adjusted by the FFP committee, while City allegedly creates fake companies to pay fake sponsors and go around third ownership rules.
I'm not a fan of FFP and I have been open about it but no one should defend City or mitigate what they are apparently doing, they not only know that they are cheating but actively covers their track.
It was irrelevant to the point I was making. Take all City's UAE sponsorship out, assume we wouldn't be able to get any replacement sponsors for the stadium, shirt, etc. and our revenue that season would still have been over three times as much as Hull City's. As I said, United's revenue was five times that of Hull City's. Do you think that's healthy? I don't.
City cheated FFP and should be punished (again). I fully accept that so there's no debate to be had there. Most of my points on this thread have been related to the overall health of the game, particularly competitiveness. Even if FFP led to City getting wound up and banned from football forever, United's revenue is still five times more than the smallest club in the league. I don't know if you believe that's a problem? I certainly do. And FFP does nothing about that.
Ah apologies, I thought you were a PSG fan. Both clubs appear to have primarily used inflated sponsorships to try to get around FFP, but in different ways as you say.
Full story needs to come out on Zuculini. Not sure if that was a clear attempt to bypass FFP though. We paid 2 million for him on a 4 year deal I think, so the amortised value for FFP is only 500k. He fits into quite a large group of players that we've bought with little intention to ever play for City, but more as an investment to loan out and then hopefully sell on as a profit.
Might be worthy of its own thread, but the FL whistleblower will be extradited to his native Portugal. Well that'll nip it in the bud for Citeh.
https://www.theguardian.com/footbal...er-the-story-of-the-man-behind-football-leaks
https://www.theguardian.com/footbal...er-the-story-of-the-man-behind-football-leaks
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A long ban is the only fair outcome here, should be at least 5 years plus.
Expecting a fine though and maybe something crap like a 3 point deduction from a group they’ll easily qualify from anyway.
Expecting a fine though and maybe something crap like a 3 point deduction from a group they’ll easily qualify from anyway.
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This will end up in court.
5 year ban s'il vous plaît
how long will the investigation take?
Would be awesome. Now that would give their fans a reason to boo the CL anthem
Most likely nothing will happen.
A 30 point PL point deduction would be nice.
Club statement
Manchester City welcomes the opening of a formal UEFA investigation as an opportunity to bring to an end the speculation resulting from the illegal hacking and out of context publication of City emails.
The accusation of financial irregularities are entirely false. The Club’s published accounts are full and complete and a matter of legal and regulatory record.
Manchester City welcomes the opening of a formal UEFA investigation as an opportunity to bring to an end the speculation resulting from the illegal hacking and out of context publication of City emails.
The accusation of financial irregularities are entirely false. The Club’s published accounts are full and complete and a matter of legal and regulatory record.
UEFA let us pick our own punishment last time because they didn't want the legal challenge we threatened. This will end up in court, and considering this investigation stems from illegally obtained (hacked and stolen) emails, that won't end well.
We all know nothing will happen.
City can sue Football Leak for all they care. If UEFA does its job, the investigation is carried with it resource, matching record with authorized system. It's not like UEFA uses Football Leak as evidence...
Realistically though UEFA wouldn't do jackshit. Corrupted itself.
I am not so sure this time - because if nothing happens when they have clear documentation, then they are saying its fair game for everyone to cheat. They can't allow that.
There is proof that they have cheated, and UEFA have started a case against them…..It will be hard not to give them a punishment
Your team is still a disgrace
FFP is the first step towards resolving these problems you perceive. One step at a time. Over time it can certainly be refined, added to and improved.
City are actively breaking down this first step towards improving the health of the game. It's a disgrace.
Pep will need a blue ribbon
It's a bit of a leap to call illegally obtained documents as clear documentation. I'd expect that UEFA will need to conduct their own investigation and will only be able to act upon evidence they can legally obtain themselves. Otherwise they'll be pissing in the wind if they want to punish City purely based on the Der Spiegel leaks.