Not a problem for UEFA if Man City win Champions League – Aleksander Ceferin

UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin insists it would not be a problem if Manchester City won the Champions League this year.Ceferin says the Premier League champions are still an asset to the European game despite their upcoming ban from continental competition.City have been excluded from the Champions League for the next two years by UEFA after being found guilty of breaching the European governing bodys Financial Fair Play regulations.UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin has had his say on Manchester City (Niall Carson/PA)City have vehemently denied wrongdoing and are appealing against the judgement to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.With City still involved in the Champions League this season they lead Real Madrid 2-1 after the first leg of their last-16 tie they could potentially embarrass UEFA by winning the competition while the case is ongoing.Ceferin, however, denies this would be the case.Speaking to Sky Sports News, Ceferin said: First of all, before Court of Arbitration for Sport decides, we shouldnt comment on that.CLUB STATEMENThttps://t.co/ueMFeLFowu Manchester City (@ManCity) February 14, 2020But whoever wins Champions League, its good. Any club wins, I like it. Its not a problem. I would like to see a fantastic final in Istanbul. Thats all I care.Ceferin says he still has respect for City.He said: They are our asset, I respect them, they are our club. I dont want to say that now we dont like Manchester City. We like them, they are our club. But this process is a separate thing, that I dont interfere.The case could lead to a fierce legal battle between UEFA and City, who are financed by their billionaire owner Sheikh Mansour. City are also strongly supported by a Chinese state-backed investment firm and an American private equity company.Asked if UEFA was up for this, Ceferin said: We are not fighting anybody. We professionally defend our position.I dont like that we speak about Manchester City only. We punished five to 10 clubs per season. Its a regular procedure. Lets see.Ceferin believes it is unlikely the issue could be resolved out of court.He said: I doubt but, again, I dont want to comment. I dont want to comment but I doubt its possible.Manchester City owner Sheikh Mansour bought the club in 2008 (Peter Byrne/PA)FFP, with its break-even clause, has been criticised in some quarters because it prevents direct investment in clubs by owners such as that at City from Sheikh Mansour.Ceferin admits mistakes may have been made in its implementation and changes could be made, but he defends the concept.He said: It was established to stop the losses in European football and it was successful. But in the future, I think we will have to adapt it, will have to change some things.I dont know if mistakes have been made. Probably, yes, everywhere, mistakes have been made.Its not that we are changing something because its not working but, for competitive balance, probably we would need more and different measures.(function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){i['GoogleAnalyticsObject']=r;i[r]=i[r]||function(){
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