The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) have confirmed that Manchester City's appeal over their Champions League ban will be heard between 8-10 June.
UEFA slapped the Citizens with a two-year ban from competing in European competition after finding them guilty of breaching Financial Fair Play regulations, but a date for the appeal could not be set as CAS were busy dealing with coronavirus-related issues.
Not decided yet if it will be an in-person hearing or by remote video link. https://t.co/ASOEW5CZUB
— Graham Dunbar (@gdunbarap) May 19, 2020
That had prompted suggestions that the ban would be frozen until City's appeal could be heard, but CAS took to their official website to confirm their schedule for the coming weeks, and they have found time to hear City's appeal over the three-day period.
UEFA are believed to need to know which teams will feature in next season's Champions League by 26 August, and given there was no date set, it was suggested that City would be able to apply to have their ban suspended by at least one year until they had the chance to appeal.
However, with a date now set, it seems almost certain that a decision will be made in time, even though appeals can often take a while to deliberate over.
City have always insisted that they are not guilty of the charges. Executive Ferran Soriano described the allegations as 'false' to Sky Sports News, adding that he was surprised to hear that City had also been accused of not co-operating with the investigation.
Should City succeed in getting their ban overturned, they would obviously be free to compete in next season's Champions League. However, if CAS stick to their original ruling, it would make for an intriguing sub-plot for the end of the Premier League season.
With City currently in second, their spot in the Champions League would likely be given to whichever teams finishes fifth.
As it stands, Manchester United occupy that spot, but Wolverhampton Wanderers, Sheffield United and Tottenham Hotspur are all with in four points of the Red Devils, and fourth-placed Chelsea are only narrowly ahead themselves. The race is on.
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Source : 90min