Man City face critical appeal

Manchester City's appeal against a two-year ban from European competition will be heard by the Court of Arbitration for Sport from Monday in a case of wide-reaching repercussions.

City are accused of overstating sponsorship revenue to hide that they had not complied with UEFA's financial fair play rules between 2012 and 2016 and were also handed a 30 million euro fine.

UEFA's case was prompted when German magazine Der Spiegel published a series of leaked emails in 2018 that purported to show how City manufactured extra sponsorship revenue from a series of companies with connections to the club's Abu Dhabi-based owner Sheikh Mansour.

City are involved in this season's Champions League and will be allowed to compete should it return in August no matter the outcome of the appeal.

But a two-season ban from the competition would represent a huge blow to the club's prestige, finances and hope of hanging onto manager Pep Guardiola and key players like Kevin de Bruyne and Raheem Sterling.

"Two years would be long. One year is something I might be able to cope with," De Bruyne said last month.