london manchester citys appeal against a twoyear ban from european competition will be heard by the court of arbitration for sport cas from monday in a case of widereaching repercussionscity are accused of overstating sponsorship revenue to hide that they had not complied with uefas financial fair play ffp rules between 2012 and 2016 and were also handed a 30 million euro 34 million 27 million fineuefas case was prompted when german magazine der spiegel published a series of leaked emails in 2018 that purported to show how city manufactured extra sponsorship revenue from a series of companies with connections to the clubs abu dhabibased owner sheikh mansourunder the sheikhs ownership citys fortunes have been transformed from perennially living in the shadow of local rivals manchester united to winning four premier league titles in the past eight yearshowever billions of investment in players and managers has not yet been able to deliver the clubs first ever champions league titlecity are still involved in this seasons competition and will be allowed to compete should the 201920 edition of champions league return in august no matter the outcome of the appealbut a twoseason ban from the competition would represent a huge blow to the clubs prestige finances and hope of hanging onto manager pep guardiola and key players like kevin de bruyne and raheem sterlingtwo years would be long one year is something i might be able to cope with de bruyne told het laatste nieuws last monthcity banked 93 million euros from prize money and television rights alone by reaching the quarterfinals of last seasons champions leaguethe added loss of gate receipts and commercial revenue would make it extremely difficult for the club to meet ffp regulations in the future without cutting costscity have steadfastly refuted uefas allegationsbased on our experience and our perception this seems to be less about justice and more about politics said ceo of the city football group ferran sorianouefa has been under pressure most publicly from la liga president javier tebas to impose a harder line on clubs backed by states like city and qatariowned paris saintgermaineuropean footballs governing body also have plenty riding on the case lose the appeal and the future of uefas ffp regulations will be called into questionthe hearing will be held by video conference due to coronavirus restrictions from monday to wednesdayif no verdict is immediately announced after the hearing the decision could be made during the month of july said matthieu reeb secretary general of caseven if citys appeal to cas fails the english champions could present a further appeal before the swiss federal courta delayed outcome would leave a cloud hanging over the return of the premier league seasoncity seem certain to secure champions league qualification on the field with a 12point lead over fifthplaced manchester unitedif they are excluded fifth would be good enough for the riches of next seasons champions league which are all the more valuable during the economic crisis caused by coronavirusjust six points separate