Manchester City’s case at the Court of Arbitration for Sport may be delayed until the end of June as a result of the Coronavirus outbreak.
City were banned from the Champions League for two years and fined earlier this year after alleged Financial Fair Play irregularities.
They immediately appealed the ruling with CAS, and their case was set to be overseen this summer before COVID-19 brought a halt to proceedings as the Swiss Court cannot sit while there is a need to socially isolate.
At the moment there is no end in sight to that and Sport explain that CAS have not ruled out that cases may be delayed until at least May 20th if there is no feasible way for them to be done via videoconference.
That is looking likely at present, and the newspaper reports that, even if things aren’t delayed, Pep Guardiola’s side may be waiting until the end of June regardless.
They have had access to the list of cases currently scheduled by the Swiss Court, with the last case dated for June 26, 2020, and Manchester City’s case is not currently on the list.
What makes it tricky for City is that their case requires the President of the Court, three Arbitrators and representatives from both clubs, including lawyers, all to be present at the hearing.
That is difficult to do at this moment in time, particularly if social distancing remains a priority for the near future.
FIFA may end up doing Manchester City a favour in the case, though. If they rule that the Champions League can be extended until July and then delayed until October, it will be give them a larger window to get their case dealt with.
That would be ideal at this moment in time as, according to Sport, it seems clear that it will not be seen before July at the earliest.
