- Title: Man City avoid transfer ban over youth transfers; fined by FIFA
- Date: 13th August 2019
- Summary: MANCHESTER, ENGLAND, UK (FILE - OCTOBER 20, 2018) (REUTERS) MANCHESTER CITY BADGE ON EXTERIOR OF STADIUM MANCHESTER CITY BADGE AND SIGN, READING: "ETIHAD STADIUM" ON SIDE OF STADIUM BLUE SKY / EXTERIOR OF STADIUM LONDON, ENGLAND, UK (FILE - APRIL 8, 2019) (REUTERS) MANCHESTER CITY MANAGER, PEP GUARDIOLA SERGIO AGUERO RAHEEM STERLING JOGGING STERLING GUARDIOLA SPEAKING TO COACHING STAFF AGUERO AND NICOLAS OTAMENDI KYLE WALKER STRETCHING MANCHESTER, ENGLAND, UK (FILE - APRIL 16, 2019) (REUTERS) GUARDIOLA AT TRAINING ZURICH, SWITZERLAND (FILE - SEPTEMBER 24, 2015) (REUTERS) FLAGS OUTSIDE FIFA'S HEADQUARTERS FIFA SIGN WIDE OF FIFA SIGN VARIOUS OF FIFA FLAGS LONDON, ENGLAND, UK (FILE - 2018) (REUTERS) VARIOUS EXTERIORS OF CHELSEA'S STAMFORD BRIDGE GROUND
- Embargoed: 27th August 2019 18:40
- Keywords: Manchester City fine FIFA football soccer transfers transfer ban Chelsea
- Location: VARIOUS
- City: VARIOUS
- Country: United Kingdom
- Topics: Soccer,Sport
- Reuters ID: LVA001AS1YHXB
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Premier League champions Manchester City have avoided a transfer ban but have been fined 370,000 Swiss Francs ($380,000) by FIFA for breaches of rules regarding the transfer of Under-18 players, football's world governing body said in a statement on Tuesday (August 13).
Premier League rivals Chelsea were given a one-year transfer ban and fined 600,000 Swiss francs in February in relation to 29 cases where regulations relating to the international transfer and registration of Under-18 players were breached.
Chelsea have filed an appeal with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) against the ban, which stopped them from signing players during the close-season.
City are also facing a separate investigation from UEFA regarding financial fair play (FFP), which was opened in March.
FIFA said its Disciplinary Committee took into account the fact that City had "accepted its responsibility".
"The protection of minors is a key element in FIFA's overall regulatory framework relating to the transfer of players, and the effective enforcement of these rules is paramount, as has also been confirmed on various occasions by the Court of Arbitration for Sport," FIFA said in a statement.
City did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
German publication Der Spiegel reported in March that the club's Abu Dhabi owners inflated sponsorship agreements to comply with FFP requirements, which prompted the UEFA probe.
The club have appealed to CAS against UEFA's investigation and club chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak has said the club will "unquestionably prevail".
In a statement on the club's website in May, Al Mubarak said: "I believe, quite comfortably, if the process is going to be judged on facts then unquestionably we will prevail. If it's not about facts and it's about other things, then it is a different conversation."
FFP rules are intended to prevent clubs receiving unlimited amounts of money through inflated sponsorship deals with organisations related to the owners.
($1 = 0.9747 Swiss francs) - Copyright Holder: FILE REUTERS (CAN SELL)
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