Sports Law Round-Up

CAS verdict sees MCFC ban overturned 

Manchester City’s two-year ban from UEFA club competition has been overturned following the club’s appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). 

UEFA issued the ban and a €30 million fine in February 2020 after City were found to have committed “serious breaches” of Financial Fair Play regulations by the Adjudicatory Chamber of UEFA’s Club Financial Control Body (CFCB). 

However, in July 2020, CAS overturned the ban, ruling that the Premier League side “did not disguise equity funding as sponsorship contributions”. Nonetheless, the Court found that Manchester City failed to “cooperate with the UEFA authorities”, and so the club did receive a reduced fine of €10 million. 
​
EFL salary cap

Clubs from the English Football League (EFL) have voted to introduce salary caps for Leagues One and Two, which take effect immediately. 

Fixed ‘Squad Salary Caps’ of £2.5 million and £1.5 million have been introduced in Leagues One and Two respectively as clubs seek to address sustainability and wage inflation issues. It is hoped that the caps further help to provide financial stability to clubs in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. The caps include basic wages, taxes, bonuses, image rights, agents’ fees and “other fees and expenses paid directly or indirectly to all registered players”. 

The Professional Footballers’ Association (PFA) has called the move “unlawful and unenforceable” after the EFL allegedly failed to consult with the PFA and the Professional Football Negotiating and Consultative Committee (PFNCC) over any possible alterations to a player’s conditions.
 
Wigan handed points deduction 

Wigan Athletic were unsuccessful in their appeal against a twelve-point deduction which was handed to them after the club fell into administration on 1 July.  

Wigan were placed into administration only four weeks after the club’s new owner, Au Yeung Wai Kay, took control. As a result, the EFL imposed an automatic twelve-point penalty which led to the side’s relegation to League One. Prior to the points deduction, Wigan were 13th in the Championship. 
​
It is thought that Wigan appealed against the punishment on the grounds of the ‘force majeure’, given that the relevant events occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, Au Yeung’s takeover was completed during the coronavirus lockdown, meaning that the owner can be expected to have already been aware of the challenges posed by the pandemic. As a result, the independent arbitral panel dismissed the club’s appeal.