Leterme confirms right in years-long battle against Manchester City
Former UEFA financial watchdog Yves Leterme says that after seven years he has finally been proven right in his accusation against Manchester City, despite a mocking photo in a British tabloid. He emphasizes that he is not seeking revenge, but that his position is now indisputably confirmed.
Financial doping and the first complaint
In 2014 Leterme, when he was the financial regulator of UEFA between 2014 and 2021, took a stand against the large‑scale fraud of Manchester City. He demanded a two‑year ban for the club in European competitions, but the international sports tribunal CAS overturned that decision and left only a fine of 10 million euros. Leterme considered that penalty “unjustly mild.”
New confirmation by independent investigation
A recent report from an independent inquiry committee, which Leterme received via “The New York Times”, confirms virtually the same findings as those he had already identified at the time. “The conclusions are almost exactly the same and nearly completely identical to what we determined years ago,” he says. The report underscores an “immense problem of massive capital injections” in the club.
The photo in The Sun
Midway through the interview Leterme pulls out his phone and shows a front page of the British über‑tabloid ‘The Sun’. In the picture he is broadly grinning with a goat in his arms, under the headline “Goat to hell”. “I have had a lot thrown at me at that time,” he laughs, while his eyes shine with quiet satisfaction.
The photo appeared when Leterme was investigating City and was mocked by the newspaper. For Leterme, however, it remains a symbol of the public ridicule he experienced at the time.
Manchester City’s response
According to Leterme, Manchester City continued to deny “smug and arrogant”, even when evidence from e‑mail correspondence of Football Leaks was released. “They worked us heavily against in their reporting duty,” he says. The club’s lawyer even made a macabre comment about the death of former prime minister Jean‑Luc Dehaene: “One down, six to go.”
Personal reflection
“I am not seeking revenge or retaliation and do not see this as a victory, but it is a confirmation that we were right,” Leterme states. He hopes “to live long enough to see justice being done.” His words were supported by Thomas Soen and Niels Vleminckx, who conducted the interview while he was in Ypres for the farewell of West‑Flemish governor Carl Decaluwé.
His shining eyes betray that he, besides the factual correctness, enjoys the recognition that finally follows even more.