Friday’s statement could destroy the European game’s ruling body and change utterly how football is run
Perhaps all declarations of war seem slightly underwhelming in tone. Perhaps when the consequences are potentially so huge, there is no need for bombast. But, make no mistake, the drily legalistic statement Uefa released on Friday evening announcing Manchester City’s two-year ban from the Champions League for breaches of financial fair play legislation could destroy the confederation and change utterly how football is run. The crisis has been brewing for a while: it is here now.
It had seemed likely the Club World Cup would be the trigger, making clear the financial draw of the superclubs allowed them to operate without Uefa, Fifa offering the fig leaf that allowed them to accept vast sums from outside the game – just as this season’s Spanish Super Cup permitted four La Liga clubs to take large payments to help sportswash the Saudi state under the guise of spreading the game.
Written by Jonathan Wilson
This news first appeared on https://www.theguardian.com/football/2020/feb/16/ramifications-of-citys-two-year-ban-may-be-seismic-not-least-for-uefa under the title “
“. Bolchha Nepal is not responsible or affiliated towards the opinion expressed in this news article.
