Manchester City will be banned by FIFA from making signings in the next two transfer windows after they broke rules related to the protection of youth players and third-party ownership, according to a report in the Sun newspaper.
The club are already being investigated by the FootballAssociation and Premier League over allegations related to youth transfers andfinancial fair play rules.
European football’s governing body UEFA is also looking intopotential breaches of financial fair play, an investigation that could resultin City being banned from the Champions League.
A transfer ban for the Premier League champions would comeless than a month after Chelsea were hit with the same sanction for 29 breachesof article 19 of FIFA’s regulations on the transfer and status of players.
The west London club have already lodged an appeal againstthat punishment but were told by world governing body FIFA last week that thesanction would not be frozen while the case is being reviewed, as Chelsea hadhoped.
FIFA has been investigating City’s international transfersfor several years, although the club were cleared of breaking the rules whenthey signed Benjamin Garre from Velez Sarsfield in 2016 just after theArgentine midfielder’s 16th birthday.
According to the Sun report, FIFA believes City have crossedthe line, though, in regards to their relationship with FC Nordsjaelland andthe Right To Dream football academy in Ghana that is also owned by the Danishside’s president, Tom Vernon.
Last year, two players from the academy, Sierra Leone’sGeorge Davies and Ghanaian Dominic Oduro, told Danish newspaper Jyllands-Postenthat they signed for City and played in youth matches before they turned 18.
Both have since left City — Davies now plays in Latvia andOduro in the United States — but FIFA has been investigating their time withthe English club.
And that investigation was broadened later in 2018 when asecond Danish newspaper, Politiken, published a story that said City had asecret deal with Vernon to have first refusal on the best prospects from Rightto Dream.
If true, that would be a breach of the rules preventing thethird-party ownership of players, as City could be argued to have undueinfluence over another club’s players.
City manager Pep Guardiola refused to be drawn on the reportat his pre-match press conference on Friday.
“I said what I said last week. I was clear on myopinion. I don’t have any more comments,” Guardiola said.
Asked if his squad could withstand a transfer ban, he added:”The squad is really good.”
City have welcomed the UEFA investigation into allegationsthat the club tried to circumvent financial fair play regulations.
As well as Chelsea, Spanish trio Atletico Madrid, Barcelonaand Real Madrid have all been punished for signing under-age players fromabroad in the past.
Real were able to get their ban reduced on appeal to theCourt of Arbitration for Sport, an avenue Chelsea will also explore.
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