City CEO targets verdict this season in ban case
Bundesliga clubs top 4 billion euros
MANCHESTER, England, Feb 19, (AP): Manchester City hope for a verdict this season in their appeal against a two-year European ban, club CEO Ferran Soriano said Wednesday.
City are expected to file a formal challenge against UEFA within days at the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
Though appeals at CAS typically take about one year to resolve, Soriano targeted a verdict around May or June.
Sport’s highest court can process fast-track cases if all parties agree to work on an accelerated timetable.
A UEFA judging panel banned City last Friday from European competitions in the 2020-21 and 2021-22 seasons for breaking financial monitoring rules and failing to fully cooperate with investigators. City were also fined 30 million euros ($33 million).
City deny wrongdoing, including that it overstated sponsoring deals linked to their Abu Dhabi
The second division’s revenues rose by 28.5 percent to 782 million euros ($845.6 million) – also a record.
“Additional future growth prospects will come in particular from digital innovations and on the international front,” DFL chief executive Christian Seifert said.
The Bundesliga’s popularity among fans is staying strong. With an average of 42,738 tickets sold per game in the top division, it remains the most-attended league in the world, according to the DFL. Only in 2011-12 (44,293) and 2017-18 (43,879) did more fans attend.
Clubs across the top two divisions paid a record 1.4 billion euros ($1.5 billion) in taxes and duties to social security institutions during the 2018-19 season. Of the 36 professional clubs, 28 finished the season with a net profit.
Tottenham forward Son Heung-min could be out for the season because of a broken right arm, manager Jose Mourinho said Tuesday.
Son broke his right arm on Sunday in a Premier League win over Aston Villa, and Tottenham initially said the South Korean was expected to miss several weeks.
However, Mourinho was more pessimistic when assessing Son’s recovery time.
“I don’t count on him again this season,” Mourinho said at a news conference ahead of Tottenham’s Champions League game against RB Leipzig. “Yesterday (we got) the bad news – the first thing was to break our hearts and the second thing was to break our team. But we have to recover from broken hearts and we have to fight with the team we have.”
Cyprus’ attorney general will decide whether to prosecute a soccer match-fixing case after examining evidence provided by Spanish law enforcement authorities, the country’s justice minister said Tuesday.
Minister George Savvides said the evidence raises a number of “serious legal questions” that need clarification from Cyprus’ top lawyer.
“We will do what the attorney general advises. Nothing more, nothing less,” Savvides said after a meeting with top police officials who briefed him on the case. “All cases and all allegations must be investigated irrespective of who or what they concern.”
Arsenal’s Alexandre Lacazette (left), Matteo Guendouzi and PierreEmerick Aubameyang during the team training session at London Colney, England on Feb 19. Arsenal face Olympiacos in a Europa League, Round of 32, first leg soccer match upcoming Thursday. (AP)