Manchester City are edging nearer a potential Champions League ban after Liverpool's title rivals were referred by UEFA for alleged breaches of Financial Fair Play regulations.
UEFA's club financial control body chief investigator has reported the Premier League champions to the governing body's Club Financial Control Body after an investigation was opened on March 7 in wake of a series of leaks reported by German publication Der Spiegel last year.
A report in the New York Times earlier this week claimed the investigatory committee will seek at least a one-season ban from the Champions League for City.
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City released a statement immediately on Thursday saying they were “disappointed, but regrettably not surprised” at the announcement, and are “entirely confident of a positive outcome when the matter is considered by an independent judicial body”.
City then went on the offensive and also hit out at the investigation by slamming “a wholly unsatisfactory, curtailed, and hostile process”.
Former Liverpool chief executive Rick Parry was one of eight members on UEFA's independent club financial control body.
City were accused of falsely overstating the amount of money coming into the club from sponsors based in Abu Dhabi.
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Now Yves Leterme, the former Belgian prime minister who is chairman of the panel, has determined City have a case to answer, with UEFA's adjudicatory chamber now deciding on any sanction in the coming weeks.
As well as the ongoing UEFA case, City are also under investigation by the Football Association and the Premier League over youth transfers and financial fair play rules, while FIFA are also looking into the possible breaking of rules regarding youth transfers and third-party ownership.
City, who on Sunday won the Premier League title by a point from Liverpool , were fined £17million in 2014 for a previous breach of the regulations.
They claim the latest allegations are “entirely false” and insist they have provided “comprehensive proof” that they haven't broken the rules.
The UEFA statement said: “The Club Financial Control Body (CFCB) chief investigator, after having consulted with the other members of the independent investigatory chamber of the CFCB, has decided to refer Manchester City FC to the CFCB adjudicatory chamber following the conclusion of his investigation.
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“The CFCB investigatory chamber had opened an investigation into Manchester City FC on 7 March 2019 for potential breaches of Financial Fair Play (FFP) regulations that were made public in various media outlets.
“UEFA will not be making any further comment on the matter until a decision is announced by the CFCB adjudicatory chamber.”
It has been a difficult week for City, who on Wednesday issued an unconvincing statement claiming a video showing chants by their players about Liverpool did not explicitly refer to the Hillsborough tragedy or Sean Cox, the Reds fan attacked outside Anfield before the Champions League semi-final against Roma last year.
