Manchester City Confident 'Irrefutable Evidence' Will See CAS Overturn European Ban
By Tom Gott
Manchester City are optimistic that they have enough evidence to convince the Court of Arbitration for Sport to overturn their Champions League ban.
City's lawyers will meet with CAS on Monday and will be given three days to dispute the two-year ban, which was handed down after UEFA decided City had breached Financial Fair Play regulations.
Big week for Man City & potentially Man United. City’s Euro ban appeal starts tomorrow. Decision due before August. Fifth place could get you Champions League place next season https://t.co/S1z4tQUCMg via @SkySports
— Kaveh Solhekol (@SkyKaveh) June 7, 2020
Club officials have always insisted they are innocent, and The Telegraph note that City have informed UEFA they have 'irrefutable evidence' which they hope will give CAS no choice but to overturn their ban.
Shortly after the initial ruling, chief executive Ferran Soriano addressed the squad and assured them that they are not guilty of the charges, and it is understood that his stance has not changed in the past few months.
"I'm also looking for the end of this process to maybe put an end of this undertone that we're hearing all the time - that anything we do, any result we get, is based only on money and not talent or effort," Soriano said.
Sky Sports News add that a final ruling is expected before the Champions League restarts in August, so if the ban is overturned, it will be done in time for the Citizens to feature in next season's competition.
Missing out on European football is expected to cost City close to £100m, while there are also fears that some of their top stars could be tempted into moves away in search of regular European football.
Kevin De Bruyne confessed that being away from Europe's top competition for more than one year would be tough to accept, hinting he might consider a move away if the ban is upheld.
Should City's ban remain for at least one year, then whichever teams finish fifth in the Premier League would be handed City's spot in the Champions League next season.