Business as usual for Melbourne City after Manchester City sanctions

Melbourne City's Australian chief executive Brad Rowse says the punitive sanctions imposed on the City Football Group after European soccer's governing body UEFA found Manchester City had "committed serious breaches" of licensing and financial fair play regulations will not have any impact on the A-League club.

UEFA slapped Manchester City with a €30 million ($48 million) fine and banned the club, last year's English Premier League champions, from the Champions League for two seasons.

City have hit back, alleging that the UEFA process was “prejudicial” and plan to appeal immediately to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).

Rowse, who has worked for Melbourne City since the club's first days - when it was Melbourne Heart before it was bought by the CFG five years ago - is confident that City's Manchester-based leaders will prove the club's actions should not be punished.

"The group just want to go through the independent process and be vindicated through it," he said.

"We are fully confident that we will be vindicated. For the whole group it is business as usual and we will be fighting it to the fullest extent and contest it at the highest level."