MX23RW : Thursday, July 4 21:34:51| >> :120:13412:13412:

Chief exec: 'UEFA allegations against Man City simply not true'

Chief exec: 'UEFA allegations against Man City simply not true'
© Reuters
Pep Guardiola's team were on Friday given a two-season ban from European football and fined 30million euros (£24.9million).

Manchester City chief executive Ferran Soriano has denied claims that the Premier League champions broke the rules over Financial Fair Play regulations.

City were on Friday given a two-season ban from European football and fined 30million euros (£24.9million) for breaching financial regulations, but have vowed to fight the verdict of a UEFA investigation into accounts submitted by the club between 2012 and 2016.

"These allegations are simply not true," Sorriano said in a video interview on the club's website.

"The owner has not put money in this club that has not been properly declared.

"We are a sustainable football club, we are profitable, we don't have debt, our accounts have been scrutinised many times, by auditors, by regulators, by investors and this is perfectly clear."

City, who have referred the case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, have also been accused of not cooperating with the process.

Ferran Soriano File Photo
Ferran Soriano (right, alongside chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak) has strongly denied any financial wrongdoing by Manchester City (Mike Egerton/PA)

But Soriano said: "We did cooperate with this process.

"We delivered a long list of documents and support that we believe is irrefutable evidence that the claims are not true and it was hard because we did this in the context of information being leaked to the media in the context of feeling that every step of the way, every engagement we had, we felt that we were considered guilty before anything was even discussed.

"But at the end, this is an internal process that has been initiated and then prosecuted and then judged by this FFP chamber at UEFA."

City responded to UEFA's decision on Friday by calling it a "prejudiced process" and Soriano said: "Of course a lot of people come now and say, well what were you expecting? This is the way it works.

"You should have expected a negative outcome the way the system is designed. But we didn't believe that. We provided the evidence but in the end this FFP Investigatory Chamber relied more on out of context stolen emails than all the other evidence we provided of what actually happened and I think it is normal that we feel like we feel.

"Ultimately based on our experience and our perception this seems to be less about justice and more about politics.

"We went to CAS mid-process because it was clear to us that we were not having a fair process and we were concerned. We were specifically concerned about the leaks, the constant leak of information.

"The process has finished now, we are going to CAS again."

Soriano said City are looking for an "early resolution" to the matter and hopes that it will be resolved before the start of summer.

He added that it was not an issue for manager Pep Guardiola or the players to comment on.

"Obviously, he (Guardiola) has been kept informed about this process but this is not something for him to respond to," Soriano said.

"He is focused on the football, he is focusing on the game, the game at hand, the game today (against West Ham), tomorrow and the next weeks.

"As well as the players... They are calm, they are focused and this matter is more a business matter, a legal matter than a football matter."

ID:390172: cacheID:390172:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:7337:
Restore Data
Share this article now:
Bayern Munich's Serge Gnabry in action against Tottenham Hotspur in the Champions League on December 11, 2019
Read Next:
Manchester City 'interested in Serge Gnabry'
>
Read more about Ferran Soriano Football
rhs 2.0
Euro 2024 fixtures header
Friday, July 5
 
5pm
Quarter-Finals
Spain
vs.
Germany
 
8pm
Quarter-Finals
Portugal
vs.
France
Saturday, July 6
 
5pm
 
8pm
Tuesday, July 9
Wednesday, July 10
Sunday, July 14
Tables header RHS

Group A

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Germany Germany32107
Q Switzerland Switzerland31205
3 Hungary Hungary31023
4 Scotland flag Scotland30121

Group B

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Spain Spain33009
Q Italy Italy31114
3 Croatia Croatia30212
4 Albania national flag Albania30121

Group C

TeamPWDLPTS
Q England flag England31205
Q Denmark Denmark30303
Q Slovenia Slovenia30303
4 Serbia Serbia30212

Group D

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Austria Austria32016
Q France France31205
Q Netherlands Netherlands31114
4 Poland Poland30121

Group E

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Romania Romania31114
Q Belgium Belgium31114
Q Slovakia Slovakia31114
4 Ukraine Ukraine31114

Group F

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Portugal Portugal32016
Q Turkey Turkey32016
Q Georgia Georgia31114
4 Czech Republic Czech Republic30121


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!