Platini: No Ban For Failing FFP This Time Around

[Wonderwall]

Although I was massively envious of the two clubs playing in UEFA's showcase match the other night, and despite my dream of watching City run out in front of the world, I'm starting to think the club should have just told UEFA to go fuck themselves and see you in court. This is clearly a carve up masquerading as a benefit. If our owners simply spent what they felt necessary , won the league and then sat out the Champions League, it'd eventually come round that everyone realised they were watching the equivalent of the Moscow or LA Olympics where every winner needs an asterisk by their name to denote the missing challengers. How long would the international telly audiences tolerate that?
I could cope without seeing my team lift the Champions League trophy in front of that bunch of smiling mafiosi representing United, Arsenal etc. and all their arrogant self-entitlement.
Fuck 'em, I say. I'm sure it crossed ADUG's minds.

kind of how I felt too

[carl_feedthegoat]

Although I was massively envious of the two clubs playing in UEFA's showcase match the other night, and despite my dream of watching City run out in front of the world, I'm starting to think the club should have just told UEFA to go fuck themselves and see you in court. This is clearly a carve up masquerading as a benefit. If our owners simply spent what they felt necessary , won the league and then sat out the Champions League, it'd eventually come round that everyone realised they were watching the equivalent of the Moscow or LA Olympics where every winner needs an asterisk by their name to denote the missing challengers. How long would the international telly audiences tolerate that?
I could cope without seeing my team lift the Champions League trophy in front of that bunch of smiling mafiosi representing United, Arsenal etc. and all their arrogant self-entitlement.
Fuck 'em, I say. I'm sure it crossed ADUG's minds.

kind of how I felt too

The whole club must have been tempted but the reality is the top players in the world want to play CL...they don't care about the clubs politics with the French cunt and his pals..they just want to play CL football.

If it was a case of carry on playing whilst we fight it then it would have been worth doing but I think if we had contested it we would not be able to play CL whilst the court case was going on.........

[carl_feedthegoat]

Although I was massively envious of the two clubs playing in UEFA's showcase match the other night, and despite my dream of watching City run out in front of the world, I'm starting to think the club should have just told UEFA to go fuck themselves and see you in court. This is clearly a carve up masquerading as a benefit. If our owners simply spent what they felt necessary , won the league and then sat out the Champions League, it'd eventually come round that everyone realised they were watching the equivalent of the Moscow or LA Olympics where every winner needs an asterisk by their name to denote the missing challengers. How long would the international telly audiences tolerate that?
I could cope without seeing my team lift the Champions League trophy in front of that bunch of smiling mafiosi representing United, Arsenal etc. and all their arrogant self-entitlement.
Fuck 'em, I say. I'm sure it crossed ADUG's minds.

kind of how I felt too

The whole club must have been tempted but the reality is the top players in the world want to play CL...they don't care about the clubs politics with the French cunt and his pals..they just want to play CL football.

If it was a case of carry on playing whilst we fight it then it would have been worth doing but I think if we had contested it we would not be able to play CL whilst the court case was going on.........

[Foreverinbluedreams]

Can you imagine the damage to the club's image from taking UEFA to court would've done? The media would've had a field day kicking our name through the dirt, painting us as enemies of football, enemies of fairness. Then consider the effect that would've had on sponsors. Even if we'd win the court case the long term damage to the brand would've been huge.

[jimtolmie_tache]

The whole club must have been tempted but the reality is the top players in the world want to play CL...they don't care about the clubs politics with the French cunt and his pals..they just want to play CL football.

If it was a case of carry on playing whilst we fight it then it would have been worth doing but I think if we had contested it we would not be able to play CL whilst the court case was going on.........

Quoted for realism.

No Champions League, no Aguero, Silva, Yaya or any of them. It's a fact of life. We have to stay in this competition whether we like it or not. Spurs would've been able to do a lot more with their Bale money had they been in it.

[Abu Dhabi]

I need help with this idea.

Am I right in assuming that debt does not factor in the FFP framework, but rather the annual amount paid to service that debt?

If so, does this mean that city can borrow and spend 200m this summer, as long as it reflects as a cost of say 15m in our financial statement?

I am sure we can borrow any amount with 0.001% interest from a few Abu Dhabi banks.

Is this the kind of model UEFA are trying to promote anyway?

[Beefymcfc]

I need help with this idea.

Am I right in assuming that debt does not factor in the FFP framework, but rather the annual amount paid to service that debt?

If so, does this mean that city can borrow and spend 200m this summer, as long as it reflects as a cost of say 15m in our financial statement?

I am sure we can borrow any amount with 0.001% interest from a few Abu Dhabi banks.

Is this the kind of model UEFA are trying to promote anyway?

Technically I don't think you can. The whole premis of FFP and the way they have stopped it happening is that it has to be earned and borrowing cannot be classed as 'earned'.

It's OK though for those who have massive debt but not for those who may want to further themselves, even if they can service it.

I think many were naive in believing that we were all on a level playing field. It's turned out that rules and regulations can be changed and interpretted to ensure that certain clubs fail. This was probably brought about because we were confident of passing and when the G14 realised they drafted in one of their own (Gill) to ensure EUFA would implement what they wanted, not what the regulations actual stated.

Whatever was going to happen was going to happen to us regardless, the big guns saw to that. How PSG could get a similar sanction to us even though Qatar basically just handed them a couple of hundred million to dig them out of the shit just shows what this is all about.

[john@staustell]

Shamelessly lifted from BM, as it is so much fun:

Wonder how the Telegraph 'unearthed' this, maybe someone connected with Abu Dhabi?

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/footba ... andal.html


Michel Platini, one of the most powerful men in world football, was on Monday night under pressure to explain a secret meeting with the man at the centre of the Qatar World Cup scandal.


The Telegraph has unearthed evidence that Mr Platini, a former leading French international and the president of Uefa, European football’s governing body, had a private discussion with Mohamed Bin Hammam, the controversial Qatari who paid millions of pounds to football officials around the world.


The emergence of the meeting means that France has become the first European nation to be drawn into the World Cup bribery scandal, which has so far been limited to African and Caribbean countries.


It is understood that the meeting took place shortly before Fifa awarded the 2022 World Cup to Qatar, and that Mr Bin Hammam personally lobbied Mr Platini to support the Emirate’s bid.


Fifa executive committee members vote in secret, but Mr Platini has disclosed that he voted for Qatar in the ballot, which was held in 2010. He has also supported the proposal to move the tournament to the winter to avoid Qatar’s summer heat.

One executive committee member said they were “shocked” by the disclosure of the meeting.

Australia and the United States, which lost out to Qatar for the 2022 World Cup, indicated on Monday that they might resubmit their bids. There was even suggestion that England’s hopes of hosting the 2018 tournament, which was awarded to Russia, could be revived because the voting process for both tournaments is under review. The decisions over both World Cups were made on the same day.

Leaked documents also show that Mr Bin Hammam:

•  Discussed trade deals with many of the officials and countries who were eligible to vote in the decision in 2010, including a gas deal in Thailand.
•  Offered car dealerships to Fifa members.
•  Discussed internships and jobs for family members of some Fifa members.

The disclosures add to concerns about the impartiality of some Fifa officials, following claims over the weekend that Mr Bin Hammam distributed £3 million in bribes to Fifa delegates.

David Cameron hinted on Monday that England could bid again for the 2018 World Cup if Fifa decided to annul the voting decisions for the two tournaments. The Prime Minister, who was among the England lobbying team, added that he would “see what happens” with the Fifa inquiry.

Mr Cameron said: “There is an inquiry under way, quite rightly, into what happened in terms of the World Cup bid for 2022. I think we should let that inquiry take place rather than prejudge it.”

Documents leaked to The Telegraph show that Mr Platini met Mr Bin Hammam for breakfast shortly before the former footballer met Nicolas Sarkozy, at the time the French president, the son of the emir of Qatar and the country’s prime minister for lunch at the Elysée Palace in November 2010, a month before the World Cup vote.

The following year, the state-owned Qatar Sports Investments bought Paris Saint-Germain, Mr Sarkozy’s favourite team. Mr Platini has always denied that Mr Sarkozy asked him to vote for Qatar, but in an interview he said: “I was invited to a dinner with Mr Sarkozy where there was the prime minister of Qatar. They never asked me during the dinner to vote. It was a clear thing about 'support’. They knew I would be independent.”

Mr Platini’s son Laurent became the chief executive of Burrda, a Qatar owned sports company. He has always said that his son’s role was unconnected to his vote.

Documents also show that an adviser to the Thai Football Association discussed a gas deal between his country and Qatar before the World Cup vote. It is understood that the president of the Thai FA, Worawi Makudi, was involved in a deal between Qatar and a Thai company to deliver gas. In 2012, Qatargas signed a deal with PTT, Thailand’s leading energy company, which sponsors its football association, to deliver two million tonnes of liquefied natural gas to the Far East country.

Letters and emails between Mr Bin Hammam’s staff and Thai football officials show that a range of deals were connected to Qatar’s 2022 bid.

The documents also show that one Asian Fifa official was offered a car dealership by Mr Bin Hammam, again before the vote.

In March, The Telegraph disclosed that Jack Warner, the former vice-president of Fifa, appeared to have been paid £720,000 from a company controlled by Mr Bin Hammam shortly after Qatar was awarded the tournament.

At the weekend, The Sunday Times alleged that Mr Bin Hammam also paid millions of pounds to African football officials who held sway over the continent’s four voting members on the Fifa executive committee.

Nick Clegg, the Deputy Prime Minister, was among those calling for Qatar to be stripped of the tournament if allegations of bribery are proven. He said Fifa “must re-run the contest fairly and openly” if the claims are true.

Lord Goldsmith, the former attorney general and a member of Fifa’s independent governance committee, said: “If it’s proved that the decision to give Qatar the World Cup was procured by … bribery and improper influence, then that decision ought not to stand.”

David Gallop, the chief executive of the Football Federation Australia, said it was “too early” to say whether his country’s position would change, but added that “it’s a bit of a 'watch this space’ at this stage”.

An investigator employed by Fifa to investigate the 2018 and 2022 bidding process said he would finish his report next month. Michael Garcia, a New York lawyer, met Qatari officials on Monday. He said he planned to submit a report to Fifa towards the end of July.

Qatar has insisted Mr Bin Hammam was not involved in its bid and denies all allegations of wrong-doing.

A spokesman for the Qatari bid said: “The Qatar 2022 Bid Committee always upheld the highest standard of ethics and integrity. We are cooperating fully with Mr Garcia’s on-going investigation and remain totally confident that any objective inquiry will conclude we won the bid to host the 2022 Fifa World Cup fairly.”

Uefa did not respond to questions about Mr Platini.

[AG7]

BREAKING
#MCFC will only be required to name FIVE homegrown players in their Champions League squad next season

UEFA's general secretary has confirmed to Martyn Ziegler (Chief Sports Reporter, Pres Assoc) that City and PSG will only need 5 home-grown players in their 21-man CL squads, not 8.

[Peter Doherty (AGAIG)]

BREAKING
#MCFC will only be required to name FIVE homegrown players in their Champions League squad next season

UEFA's general secretary has confirmed to Martyn Ziegler (Chief Sports Reporter, Pres Assoc) that City and PSG will only need 5 home-grown players in their 21-man CL squads, not 8.

That's a break. I'm feeling better about renewing my Champions League Cup Scheme thingy, now.

[blues2win]

Can we choose the mix between club trained and association trained? As an under 21 I don't think Nastasic counts towards the 16 foreign players allowed.

[john@staustell]

BREAKING
#MCFC will only be required to name FIVE homegrown players in their Champions League squad next season

UEFA's general secretary has confirmed to Martyn Ziegler (Chief Sports Reporter, Pres Assoc) that City and PSG will only need 5 home-grown players in their 21-man CL squads, not 8.

It was always part of the setlement. But UEFA kept it quiet to avoid giving the likes of Wenger a heart attack. They've just been forced to confirm it!

[blues2win]

Martyn Ziegler of the Press Association says only 1 of the 5 needs to be club trained eg Boyata.

[Peter Doherty (AGAIG)]

Martyn Ziegler of the Press Association says only 1 of the 5 needs to be club trained eg Boyata.

The plot thickens....

[Saul Goodman]

We still only have 4/5, assuming Micah and Rodwell leave and Milner stays...

[Ted Hughes]

BREAKING
#MCFC will only be required to name FIVE homegrown players in their Champions League squad next season

UEFA's general secretary has confirmed to Martyn Ziegler (Chief Sports Reporter, Pres Assoc) that City and PSG will only need 5 home-grown players in their 21-man CL squads, not 8.

It was always part of the setlement. But UEFA kept it quiet to avoid giving the likes of Wenger a heart attack. They've just been forced to confirm it!

Martyn Ziegler of the Press Association says only 1 of the 5 needs to be club trained eg Boyata.

The plot thickens....

I think this is probably the case: always part of the deal.

[Peter Doherty (AGAIG)]

BREAKING
#MCFC will only be required to name FIVE homegrown players in their Champions League squad next season

UEFA's general secretary has confirmed to Martyn Ziegler (Chief Sports Reporter, Pres Assoc) that City and PSG will only need 5 home-grown players in their 21-man CL squads, not 8.

It was always part of the setlement. But UEFA kept it quiet to avoid giving the likes of Wenger a heart attack. They've just been forced to confirm it!

Martyn Ziegler of the Press Association says only 1 of the 5 needs to be club trained eg Boyata.

The plot thickens....

I think this is probably the case: always part of the deal.

Yes, I agree. I was just thinking that the machinations of UEFA are a joy to behold.

[Ted Hughes]

BREAKING
#MCFC will only be required to name FIVE homegrown players in their Champions League squad next season

UEFA's general secretary has confirmed to Martyn Ziegler (Chief Sports Reporter, Pres Assoc) that City and PSG will only need 5 home-grown players in their 21-man CL squads, not 8.

It was always part of the setlement. But UEFA kept it quiet to avoid giving the likes of Wenger a heart attack. They've just been forced to confirm it!

Martyn Ziegler of the Press Association says only 1 of the 5 needs to be club trained eg Boyata.

The plot thickens....

I think this is probably the case: always part of the deal.

Yes, I agree. I was just thinking that the machinations of UEFA are a joy to behold.

Platini & Co desperately trying to keep in with the cartel whilst trying to avoid being taken to court I think. But tbf, you would have to say it's been managed quite craftily well, until the bit about Platini meeting up with the Qatari bribe merchant came out..

[Peter Doherty (AGAIG)]

I'd have to agree, Ted. Platini is treading a line between what's right and what's wrong here like a man who actually knows the difference between the two. I also think that what happens with FIFA will open up a whole can of worms for UEFA that might leave us all in an even worse predicament.

[blues2win]

Don't forget Platini saying that UEFA had pleased the Arse and the rags though...,