Der Spiegel also alleges separate documents show Manchester City and Paris St-Germain avoided financial fair play sanctions

[davieG]

Der Spiegel also alleges separate documents show Manchester City and Paris St-Germain avoided financial fair play sanctions with the intervention of Fifa president Gianni Infantino.

 

What are the FFP claims involving Infantino?
Manchester City are owned by Sheikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan's Abu Dhabi United Group, while PSG are owned by Qatar Sports Investment.

According to Der Spiegel's report, they overvalued sponsorship deals to help meet FFP rules and, when facing sanctions over the matter, the allegations in the documents state Infantino helped arrange more lenient punishments for them in 2014.

At the time, Fifa president Infantino was in his previous role as Uefa general secretary and City and PSG were both fined £49m, £32m of which was suspended.

Following the latest claims, City's statement added: "The attempt to damage the club's reputation is organized and clear."

A PSG statement said it "has always acted in full compliance with the laws and regulations enacted by sports institutions" and it "denies the allegations".

The club added: "Since the introduction of Financial Fair Play, Paris St-Germain have been one of the most audited and scrutinised clubs in history."

Uefa's response detailed the aims of FFP and added that the system "is a comparatively recent system of regulation" and with "the early cases" took "Uefa and the clubs into unchartered territory".

It said: "Uefa is confident that any apparent inconsistencies that may seem evident to some, have been eliminated as the system has developed and become more familiar to all sides."

Infantino became president of Fifa, world football's governing body, in 2016.

"All decisions on Uefa Financial Fair Play cases are made by the Uefa Club Financial Control Body (CFCB)," said a Fifa statement. "It is an independent body.

"The Uefa administration, which of course includes the general secretary, can assist the CFCB depending on the specific case.

"This may include discussions, meetings, assistance to help find solutions, and other interactions to assist the CFCB in its work. Nonetheless, the CFCB is entirely responsible for their own decisions."

In an interview last week, Infantino spoke in general terms when he said: "My job entails having discussions, having conversations, exchanging documents, drafts, ideas, whatever, on many, many, many, many, topics.

"Otherwise you don't go anywhere. I mean, if I just have to stay in my room and not speak to anyone and cannot do anything, how can I do my job properly?

"So if then this is being portrayed as something bad, I think there's not much I can do more than my job in an honest way, in a professional way and trying to defend the interests of football."

[breadandcheese]

Is anyone surprised at this?/

[davieG]

8 minutes ago, breadandcheese said:

Is anyone surprised at this?/

[Crinklyfox]

Scrap FFP.  It was well intended but it's become like tax.  Those with the most aren't affected and the little guys get hammered.

[foxile5]

22 hours ago, Crinklyfox said:

Scrap FFP.  It was well intended but it's become like tax.  Those with the most aren't affected and the little guys get hammered.

And you have to wonder if that wasn't the aim all along. Taxes have always been in place to benefit the wealthy. I would NOT be surprised if this was the intention all along, don't want too many upstarts like Leicester upsetting the apple cart. 

[urban.spaceman]

Manchester City may face Champions League ban after Uefa FFP investigation

Paul MacInnesLast modified on Tue 4 Dec 2018 01.05 GMT

• Promise of strong action if Der Spiegel allegations are proved 
• Potential ban could come into effect as early as next season

 

Uefa opened an independent investigation last month after allegations in Der Spiegel that the club had circumvented financial fair play rules. Photograph: Catherine Ivill/Getty Images

Manchester City could be banned from the Champions League, perhaps as early as next season, as Uefa looks set to take strong action should the club be found to have flouted Financial Fair Play (FFP) rules. An independent investigation by European football’s governing body into City’s behaviour was recently opened after information was made public by the Football Leaks hack and published in the German magazine Der Spiegel alleged City used sponsorship deals to circumvent rules on how much money owners can put into a club.

At a meeting of Uefa’s executive committee in Dublin the president, Aleksander Ceferin, described the investigation as “a concrete case” and pledged an outcome “very soon”. Uefa officials believe the integrity of one of the organisation’s key rules is under threat and that sporting sanctions are the only appropriate response should City be found to have flouted them.

The Premier League champions were previously fined £49m for contravening FFP in 2014 but avoided a more severe punishment and subsequently had the fine reduced to £18m after complying with operational and financial measures agreed as part of the punishment.

Emails published as part of the Football Leaks revelations, however, suggest that City’s actions had been deeper and more widespread than initially thought.

In one correspondence Jorge Chumillas, City’s chief financial officer, appears to reveal that an apparent sponsorship deal by Etihad Airlines, worth £68m to the club, was in fact largely to be paid directly to City by the club’s owners, the Abu Dhabi United Group (ADUG).

Der Spiegel also claimed that as City began to become concerned about failing to meet FFP standards they set up a “closed payment loop” in which ADUG paid a third party to pay City for the image rights to their players. Known internally as “Project Longbow”, it allegedly generated revenues of £11m a year for the club. The Guardian has not seen or been able to verify the documents Der Spiegel has used in its reporting.P

The Fiver: sign up for our free football email.

City have issued a consistent response to all claims made by Football Leaks and Der Spiegel: “We will not be providing any comment on out-of-context materials purportedly hacked or stolen from City Football Group and Manchester City personnel and associated people. The attempt to damage the club’s reputation is organised and clear.”

[hairy]

So if they were to be banned and assuming they finish in the top 4, would it mean the 5th place would enter the play off qualification? That would be something to aim to

[Babylon]

8 minutes ago, hairy said:

So if they were to be banned and assuming they finish in the top 4, would it mean the 5th place would enter the play off qualification? That would be something to aim to

We aren't finishing 5th.

[hairy]

1 minute ago, Babylon said:

We aren't finishing 5th.

Why be so negative? We as Leicester fans have survived on hope for many years. 

[Babylon]

8 minutes ago, hairy said:

Why be so negative? We as Leicester fans have survived on hope for many years. 

It's called being realistic, not only would we have to finish above Man United and Everton, both of whom out spend us. We'd then have to finish above one of Spurs, Arsenal or Chelsea. Lightening rarely strikes twice.

[Out Foxed]

4 hours ago, Babylon said:

It's called being realistic, not only would we have to finish above Man United and Everton, both of whom out spend us. We'd then have to finish above one of Spurs, Arsenal or Chelsea. Lightening rarely strikes twice.

lightning does though

[yorkie1999]

If Man City were found to be guilty of breaking FFP rules and subsequently banned from European football, or in other words found guilty of cheating, how would the premier league react, seeing as they are their champions.

[urban.spaceman]

 

[m4DD0gg]

They wont get banned neither will psg, these teams run football and will just grease the right palms and move on.

[urban.spaceman]

https://www.theguardian.com/football/2019/jan/15/manchester-city-refuse-comment-uefa-ffp-allegations

 

The old “yeah we cheated but you weren’t supposed to know” defence. 

[urban.spaceman]

It begins. 

 

Hopefully they’ll be stripped of all their European trophies and forced to play in front of an empty stadium...

[ozleicester]

nah, best not