Manchester City could yet score another victory in their battle with UEFA after it emerged that they have complained to the organisation's disciplinary body over information leaking out of the investigation into the club.
The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) this month overturned a two-year Champions League ban as the independent hearing found that the Blues "did not disguise equity funding as sponsorship".
A £9m fine was handed out, reduced from £27m, as a result of City being deemed to have not co-operated with the initial investigation; the full report released this week suggested that had the evidence presented to CAS been made available in the first place, an appeal may not have been necessary.
However, City were so concerned with the initial investigation that they made the unprecedented step of going to CAS before a decision had been reached to contest leaks to the media that they alleged to have come from the Investigatory Chamber.
And while the appeal was rejected because no punishment had yet been handed out, the hearing described the leaks as "worrisome" and said it was puzzling how they could be described as groundless by the chief investigator of the Club Financial Control Body when they clearly had merit.
The latest report reveals that on January 21, 2020 - six weeks after the first CAS decision - City took their complaint about the alleged leaks from the Investigatory Chamber to UEFA's Control, Ethics and Disciplinary Body (CEDB) with proceedings still pending.
The CEDB "consists of a chairman, two vice-chairmen and thirteen other members. As a rule, it reaches decisions in the presence of all its members. It is, however, entitled to take a decision if at least three of its members are present and in certain circumstances the chairman, one of the vice-chairmen or one of the other members may take a decision as a judge sitting alone".
It normally makes decisions monthly but there have been no meetings since the end of March, a time when the impact of the pandemic was becoming clearer.
