La Liga president Javier Tebas has criticised the decision to overturn Manchester City’s two-season ban from European football.
The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) confirmed on Monday that the club had been cleared of “disguising equity funds as sponsorship contributions” and would be allowed to enter into European competitions as normal.
Back in February, the club had received a two-year ban from playing in the Champions League or Europa League following a lengthy investigation from UEFA – the governing body of European football.
“We have to reassess whether the CAS is the appropriate body to which to appeal institutional decisions in football,” Tebas said on Monday, as quoted by BBC Sport’s Simon Stone. “Switzerland is a country with a great history of arbitration, the CAS is not up to standard.”
The Spanish league chief has been outspoken in recent years of Manchester City’s ownership and he had welcomed the decision back in February to ban the club from Europe for two seasons, having accused them of ‘financial doping’.
“UEFA is finally taking decisive action,” Tebas wrote on his Twitter account.
“Enforcing the rules of financial fair play and punishing financial doping is essential for the future of football.
“We have been calling for severe action against Manchester City and Paris Saint Germain for years.
“Better late than never.”
The outspoken Tebas has been a long-term critic of both City and French champions Paris Saint-Germain –clubs who are owned by individuals with power in the United Arab Emirates and Qatar respectively.
He is a firm believer that these business models are damaging for football generally and also for clubs in Spain’s top flight.
Tebas usually courts controversy and is rarely withdrawn in his comments – he is behind the league’s attempts to play a fixture in the United States and has had a long-running feud with the Spanish FA over that issue and several other matters, including fixture scheduling.
