Twitter erupts in anger as Manchester City's UEFA Champions League ban is overturned

Manchester City has been fined €10 million for breaching the Financial Fair Play rules set by UEFA but has managed to escape the dire ramifications of a Champions League ban.

Manchester City was initially set to incur a €30 million fine for disguising equity funds and misappropriating the coffers at the club. The Premier League club was also set to suffer a two-year ban from the Champions League.

In a landmark decision, the CAS has cleared Manchester City of the charges and has reduced the fine amount to €10 million.

Twitter had plenty to say about the court's decision. Many football pundits and fans claimed that the decision raises serious questions about the authenticity of UEFA's rule and the hold that it claims to have over Europe's biggest clubs.

Twitter filled with hilarious reactions as Manchester City verdict delivered

As is usually the norm with controversial decisions of this nature, Twitter users had a field day in the office and decided to see the funny side of the verdict.

Some users were also quick to point out that Manchester City has one of the largest financial clouts in the football world. The EPL club is known for making outlandish transfer decisions and will now have the financial freedom to go after football's more exclusive targets.

Some fans from rival clubs also accused UEFA of favouritism and claimed that Manchester City had unfairly influenced the authorities to obtain a favourable decision.

The decision taken by the CAS means spells trouble for the likes of Chelsea, Leicester City, and Manchester United who will now have to push for a top-four spot with renewed vigour to qualify for the Champions League.

Manchester City will also be able to keep many of its superstars as a result of the verdict. As far as UEFA is concerned, however, pertinent questions regarding the effectiveness of the FFP will be raised in the coming weeks.

About the author

Aditya is a European and international football writer at Sportskeeda, covering previews, news, post-match articles and live blogs for 5 years. During his time here, he has had the privilege of covering a press meeting during the collaboration between his favorite club Bengaluru FC and Sevilla, where he got a chance to interact with Sevilla president Jose Castro and explore the grassroots development in his city.

Aditya started following the sport after being dazzled by Ronaldinho’s silky feet at the 2006 FIFA World Cup. He is a Barcelona fan and unsurprisingly, his favorite manager and players are Pep Guardiola and Andres Iniesta respectively. He admires the latter for his superhuman talent and his off-pitch demeanor, and his winning goal in Spain’s 2010 World Cup final win over the Netherlands left a lasting impact on Aditya.

The match-preview specialist believes that his ongoing five-year stint at Sportskeeda has given him the ability to identify the distinct line between emotional and fact-based articles, which separates him from other journalists. For him, fact-checking is the most integral part of his writing process and he only relies on authentic platforms for data.

Aditya is a semi-professional pianist and likes to participate in concerts and recitals when not immersed in football.

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