Soccer-Man City CEO tells EFC board club will clear their name


Soccer Football - FA Cup - Quarter Final - Manchester City v Liverpool - Etihad Stadium, Manchester, Britain - April 4, 2026 Manchester City chief executive Ferran Soriano in the stands before the match Action Images via Reuters/Jason Cairnduff

COPENHAGEN, Sept 28 (Reuters) - ⁠Manchester City chief executive Ferran Soriano said that the club would do everything ⁠to clear their name when addressing the European Football Clubs board on ‌Monday, adding the procedure would take years before reaching an end, a source familiar with the discussions told Reuters.

Soriano, who sits on EFC's board, also declined to comment to reporters onCity being found guilty of ​114 of 115 alleged breaches of the Premier League's ⁠financial rules, according to media reports ⁠confirmed to Reuters by a source familiar with the situation.

City are expected to appeal ⁠and ‌have consistently denied wrongdoing.

The case will provide one backdrop to the General Assembly, which brings together some 500 of the 850 members of the EFC in ⁠Copenhagen for Tuesday's meetingand comes at a time when governance ​questions are also dominating ‌debate at the top of the world game.

EFC chairman Nasser Al-Khelaifi is due ⁠to address delegates, ​with UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin also attending. FIFA President Gianni Infantino was invited but is very unlikely to be presentwith the FIFA delegation expected to be represented by Secretary General Mattias ⁠Grafstrom.

At global level, Infantino has proposed an independent external ​review of FIFA's governance and decision-making after the collapse of a plan to bring private investment into its commercial rights business, a proposal that triggered resistance from several confederations and ⁠national associations.

The debate has raised broader questions about how major decisions are taken, how much power rests with FIFA's leadership and what role clubs, leagues, confederations and national associations should have in shaping the game.

The City case adds a domestic dimension to the same ​debate, focusing attention on financial regulation, enforcement and the ⁠relationship between powerful clubs and governing bodies.

No sanction has yet been announced and the process ​is not complete.

Ceferin's presence will add further weight to ‌the general assembly, with UEFA itself central to ​the wider debate over governance, regulation and the balance of power across European and world football.

(Reporting by Julien Pretot and Lori EwingEditing by Christian Radnedge)

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