Manchester City launched a stinging attack on UEFA on Thursday after the European football's governing body announced that their investigation into alleged breaches of Financial Fair Play rules had been referred to adjudicators to determine a sanction.
The English champions are bracing themselves for a season-long Champions League ban for the 2020-21 campaign but they are not going down without a fight.
Last month, Sportsmail understands, they submitted a detailed defence of more than 100 pages and they responded to UEFA's announcement this morning by once again questioning the integrity of the process.
City intend to launch an appeal to any punishment, with the case likely to end at the Court of Arbitration for Sport, and in their statement the club said they were 'confident of a positive outcome when the matter is considered by an independent judicial body'.