City have been referred to the Club Financial Control Body adjudicatory chamber following a UEFA investigation into financial irregularities
Saturday 18 May 2019 22:09, UK
Pep Guardiola insists Manchester City are not guilty of any FFP breach, and reacted angrily to questions of his own wrongdoing.
The 6-0 demolishing of Watford at Wembley on Saturday added the FA Cup to last weekend's Premier League title and February's League Cup triumph over Chelsea.
However, this season's success could be overshadowed by allegations of financial irregularities with the club referred to the Club Financial Control Body adjudicatory chamber following a UEFA investigation.
City have denied any wrongdoing and say the accusations are entirely false. Guardiola followed his club's stance of denying any wrongdoing, saying he trusts the club's explanation.
Speaking immediately after the Watford win, Guardiola said: "From the beginning, this club has made a big step forward under Sheikh Mansour."
"There's no way you can do it without top players, money helps to buy incredible players. But I listen to my chairman, I listen to my CEO and they explain why they are under investigation.
"I trust them and when they tell me we were fair, we did it absolutely following the rules, I believe them. We are not guilty."
City were also fined £49m and hit with restrictions on transfer spending and their Champions League squad after FFP breaches were originally investigated in 2014, but most of that fine was eventually not billed as City aligned their spending.
With Manchester City facing a ban from European competition for allegedly misleading UEFA and breaking FFP rules, we have provided a bitesize explanation of the accusations, what they mean, how City have responded and more.
A UEFA panel investigating financial allegations concerning City are expected to recommend the club receive a one-year ban from the Champions League, according to Sky sources.
Here, we get into the who, what, where, when and why of the story...
