Manchester City will once again be allowed to compete in the Champions League starting in 2020-21. The Court of Arbitration of Sport made the decision to reinstate Manchester City after it was determined Manchester City was “cleared of disguising equity funds as sponsorship contributions” according to the BBC.
Manchester City apparently did not cooperate with members of the Union of European Football Associations, but it was not enough to ban them from international competition. Manchester City has already qualified for the 2020-21 Champions League action. They are in second place in the English Premier League this season with 72 points. At 23 wins, nine losses and three draws, they have 21 fewer points than first-place Liverpool and nine points up on third-place Chelsea.
In fact, with Chelsea only having two games left this season in the English Premier League, they cannot catch Manchester City. The top scorer this season for Manchester City this season has been Raheem Sterling of London, England, who has 17 goals, the fifth most in the league.
Before the 2020-21 Champions League gets underway, Manchester City is still participating in two other prestigious soccer competitions–the 2019-20 UEFA Champions League and the FA Cup. In the Champions League, Manchester City is in the round of 16, and trailing Real Madrid 2-1 after the first leg. The second leg will be in Manchester on August 7. In the FA Cup, Manchester City is in the semi-finals and will play Arsenal on Saturday.
Unfortunately, there has been a history of fraud connected to soccer. Throughout the last decade, soccer has been heavily scrutinized and investigated for improper ethics. In 2015, 12 people pleaded guilty for their involvement in the FIFA corruption scandal. Seven FIFA members were extradited to the United States on the suspicion that they received $150 million US in bribes. Then in 2016, FIFA President Sepp Blatter was suspended six years for “criminal mismanagement and misappropriation.”
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