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Football

15th Mar 2019

Report: Manchester City set to receive transfer ban

Jack O'Toole

Premier League champions Manchester City will reportedly be hit with a two-window transfer ban by FIFA which means Pep Guardiola’s side will not be able to make any new signings until the summer of 2020 if the suspension is upheld.

The Premier League leaders are already under investigation by both the FA and the Premier League for alleged infractions around youth transfers and Financial Fair Play rules and it is now expected that they could see a similar ban to Chelsea, who were hit with a two window ban last month after they were found guilty of a serious and systemic breach of the rules regarding their dealings with overseas players under the age of 18.

According to The Sun, FIFA are investigating the Right To Dream football academy in Ghana with particular reference to Sierra Leone’s George Davies and Ghanaian Dominic Oduro, both of whom said they played for the club before turning 18.

City were previously fined £49m for contravening FFP rules in 2014 but saw that fee reduced to £18m after they complied with operational and financial measures.

However, UEFA opened a formal investigation into the Premier League champions’ financial conduct earlier this month amid a number of alleged violations.

A UEFA statement read: “UEFA Club Financial Control Body opens investigation into Manchester City for alleged Financial Fair Play violations.

“The Investigatory Chamber of the independent UEFA Club Financial Control Body has today opened a formal investigation into Manchester City FC for potential breaches of Financial Fair Play (FFP) regulations.

“The investigation will focus on several alleged violations of FFP that were recently made public in various media outlets.”

UEFA had been investigating allegations published in the Football Leaks series by German magazine Der Spiegel that alleged that City systematically broke Financial Fair Play rules.

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