Manchester City's Appeal Hearing Against European Ban Begins at CAS; EFL Restart: Fulham vs Brentford First Match on June 20 and More (Football Round-up)

Manchester City’s appeal against a two-year European ban was opened before the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) on June 8 via videoconference, a court official was quoted by AFP.

City were accused of overstating sponsorship revenue so they could ‘comply’ with UEFA’s financial fair-play (FFP) rules between 2012 and 2016. In addition to the ban, the club was fined €30 million. 

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“The hearing has started well and the video conference is working well,” Matthieu Reeb, secretary general of the Lausanne-based CAS, said. The hearing that pits Manchester City against UEFA lawyers, opened 0900 local time and will last three days before it closes on Wednesday evening.

Reeb said the final verdict will come out in July.

Even if City’s appeal to CAS fails, the English champions could take the petitions to the Swiss Federal Court, also based in Lausanne.

Fulham vs Brentford on June 20

Fulham's match against Brentford is going to be the first Championship game that is going to take place when the English second-tier resumes on June 20.

No Championship fixtures have been played since March 8, when all sporting activities were put on halt. The English Football League’s (EFL) restart date is provisional, though, with confirmation only after safety requirements are met.

Leaders Leeds United will play against Cardiff on June 21. The full revised Championship schedule was released online by the EFL on June 8.

What has further been decided is that there will be no midweek fixtures on June 23-24, but full rounds are scheduled every subsequent midweek till the final matches of the regular season scheduled for Wednesday, July 22.

'Virtual' Stands in La Liga

La Liga will use virtual images of stands and audio of fans' cheering for its television broadcasts when matches start on June 11.

The matches will be played behind closed doors, but the broadcast audience will get a full game experience via virtual images and audio, produced by makers of the FIFA video game.

This plan will commence as the league debates whether fans can return to stadiums or not this season.

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League president Javier Tebas said he is in favour of having fans back as soon as regions have been given a clearance from the health authorities. This is in contradiction to an earlier message by Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez who said it would be unfair if some clubs had fans present and some didn’t.

Lionel Messi has returned to training again with his teammates to give FC Barcelona a massive boost ahead of their La Liga return against Mallorca.

“I've missed this place,” Lionel Messi after he joined training at Camp Nou for the first time in three months but knows the action is not going to be the same without spectators.

Instead, La Liga's frenzied title race is still headed towards the unknown as Barca run out into the biggest and now emptiest stadium in Europe. 

Edu Bedia Extends Contract With FC Goa

FC Goa announced that Spanish player Edu Bedia has extended his contract for two years. The new deal will keep him with the club until 2022. 

Bedia was brought in at the beginning of the 2017-18 Indian Super League (ISL) season from Real Zaragoza, making the current year his fourth season with the club. He has now become the longest serving foreign player for FC Goa. 

"I'm thrilled to continue my journey with FC Goa", said midfielder Bedia on his contract extension. "It has been a wonderful experience for me so far, and I'm excited to be a part of the future of this team. I have had some great moments and want to achieve even more success during my time here.”

FC Goa director of football Ravi Puskur expressed his joy on Bedia’s extension and acknowledged his role as one of the important players of the side.

"We are very pleased that Edu will be continuing with us," Puskur said. "Edu has been a very important player for the team for a few years now and we are confident that he will remain a key component of the squad in the future as well. His quality is there for all to see, and hopefully he can help us add some more trophies to the FC Goa cabinet."

Chinese FA Hands Ban for Breaking Coronavirus Rules

The Chinese Football Association suspended six Under-19 internationals from playing for six months for breaching coronavirus protocols. In addition to the ban the six players have been asked to write self criticizing essays as punishment.

The six flouted lockdown rules to go drinking late at night. The ban effectively rules them out of action till the end of November. They have also been slammed with additional penalties by their clubs for leaving the Shanghai training base without permission on May 30. 

"It was a severe violation of the team's epidemic control regulations and negatively affected the whole team," the Xinhua news agency reported, quoting the CFA.

The players are not permitted to play in any matches organised by the CFA until November 30 and are also prohibited from participation with the national team at any level during that time. 

U-19 head coach Cheng Yaodong told Soccer News: “We used the harshest language at the time, gave them a dressing-down and said a lot of harsh words.

"They all realised the seriousness of the situation. It is a loss to the team, and of course, it will have greater effects on the players themselves," he added.

The Under-19 team is set to play in the Chinese third division in the upcoming season to prepare them for the upcoming Olympics. 

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