Man City fined £315,000 for breaching transfer rules but won’t face transfer ban – Here’s why?
Etihad Stadium - Manchester City
Premier League Champions Manchester City have been fined £315,000 for breaching transfer rules for players under the age of 19 but unlike Chelsea, they won’t be serving a transfer ban as the severity of the cases differ.
A lot of fans on Twitter who have little knowledge on the subject have questioned why Man City escaped the transfer ban while Chelsea are currently serving a transfer ban for two windows for breaching rules regarding the signing of 29 players under the age of 18.
While FIFA investigated Man City for allegedly breaching transfer rules regarding the signing of 8 players under the age of 18, However, FIFA found only 2 signings to breach the rules and confirmed the Premier League Champions will be fined £315,000. FIFA has decided against imposing a transfer ban on the club.
Here’s why:
- FIFA’s guidance on the interpretation of the provisions were only released in December 2016
- The club signed the players before the guidelines were released
- The club accepted the breach and gave a legitimate reason for the breach by issuing a statement that follows:
“The club accepts responsibility for the breaches which arose as a result of misinterpretation of the regulations in question. All of the breaches occurred before December 2016 when guidance on the interpretation of the provisions was issued, since which date Manchester City has been fully compliant.“
“The club regards highly and shares FIFA’s determination to ensure the protection of minors in football and has cooperated fully with the investigation which has been transparent and evidenced based at all times.”
– Manchester City F.C.
FIFA’s disciplinary committee seems to have taken the club’s co-operation and the ‘lack of guidance on the interpretation of the provisions’ at the time of the transfers into account before issuing the judgement.
“Manchester City FC was found to have breached, amongst others, article 19 of the FIFA Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players.”
“The Disciplinary Committee took into account the fact that Manchester City FC accepted its responsibility and sanctioned the club with a fine of CHF 370,000.”
“The protection of minors is a key element in FIFA’s overall regulatory framework relating to the transfer of players, and the effective enforcement of these rules is paramount, as has also been confirmed on various occasions by the Court of Arbitration for Sport.”
“The decision issued by the Disciplinary Committee was notified today.”
– FIFA
Why is it different from Chelsea’s transfer ban?
- Chelsea were investigated for allegedly breaching transfer rules regarding the signing of over 90 players under the age of 18 and were found guilty of breaching transfer rules in 29 of the cases. Manchester City were found to have breached the rules in only 2 against Chelsea’s 26.
- Chelsea were also found to have breached article 18bis (which concerns third-party influence on clubs) while City didn’t break article 18bis.
- Finally, Chelsea have not confirmed whether the signing of all 29 minors happened before the issuance of guidance on the interpretation of the provisions.
LosMejor's Editorial Team includes a team of experts who cover the UEFA Champions League, Premier League, FA Cup and the Carabao Cup. The Editorial team is headed by Deepak Selvan.
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