Manchester City has filed an expected appeal at the Court of Arbitration for Sport against a two-year ban from European soccer competition.
The club met its late-Monday deadline to challenge UEFA, CAS said Wednesday.
“It is not possible to indicate at this time when a final award in this matter will be issued,” the court said in a statement.
It is unclear if City will seek UEFA’s consent for a public hearing. They could also try to reach an out-of-court settlement to resolve the dispute, which CAS would likely then ratify.
UEFA found City guilty of “serious breaches” of financial monitoring rules and failing to cooperate with an investigation opened almost one year ago.
The club is currently excluded from playing in the Champions League, Europa League or Super Cup in the next two seasons. UEFA also fined City €30 million ($32.5 million). The punishment does not affect City’s current Champions League campaign.
The CAS document was published hours beforeCity plays at Real Madrid in the first leg of the round of 16.
Leaked internal club documents published in German magazine Der Spiegel in November 2018 showed City deceived UEFA by overstating sponsorship deals from 2012-16 and hiding the source of revenue tied to its owners in Abu Dhabi.
One internal email said City officials preferred to spend tens of millions on “the 50 best lawyers in the world” to sue UEFA rather than accept punishment.
City never disputed the authenticity of documents, which it said were illegally obtained. City CEO Ferran Soriano hopes to resolve the case by the end of the season.