The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) declared on Friday it has banned Manchester City from European competitions for two seasons for “serious breaches” of financial regulations.
The club, last year’s champion of the English Premier League, was also fined 30 million euros ($33 million) by UEFA. The organization declared that the club “committed serious breaches” of UEFA’s licensing rules and Financial Fair Play Regulations, including “overstating its sponsorship revenue in its accounts” for five years.
Manchester City, also known as “Man City,” has the right to appeal the ban.
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“Manchester City is disappointed but not surprised by today’s announcement by the UEFA Adjudicatory Chamber,” the club said in a statement.
The club also sharply criticized UEFA’s investigative process in its statement, saying the process was “flawed and consistently leaked,” so “there was little doubt in the result.”
UEFA’s ruling would prevent Man City from playing in any European tournaments until the 2022-2023 season. The club is currently competing in UEFA’s Champions League, which is the highest profile tournament in professional football, and second overall to only the World Cup.