Jurgen Klopp insists Manchester City’s European ban escape was ‘not a good day for football’

‘It is not a good day for football’: Jurgen Klopp SLAMS Manchester City’s European ban escape and suggests ‘the richest clubs and countries can do what they want’ – but claims it will help Liverpool to retain the Premier League title

  • Jurgen Klopp has slammed the decision to overturn Man City’s European ban
  • City’s two-year ban was wiped out by CAS after they appealed UEFA’s verdict
  • The German backed the concept of FFP but was disappointed by the decision

Jurgen Klopp has slammed the Court of Arbitration of Sport’s decision to overturn Manchester City’s two-year European ban on Monday, claiming it wasn’t ‘a good day for football’.

UEFA initially handed City a European ban for breaching FFP regulations, but City appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport and subsequently had the ban taken away. A fine of €30m (£27m) handed to City was also reduced to €10m (£9m). 

The ruling left Klopp bemused, with the Liverpool boss claiming the richest clubs and countries ‘can do whatever they want’.

Jurgen Klopp has slammed the decision to overturn Manchester City’s two-year European ban

Pep Guardiola was elated on Monday after Manchester City's European ban was overturned

Pep Guardiola was elated on Monday after Manchester City’s European ban was overturned

‘I don’t think it was a good day for football yesterday,’ Klopp said in his press conference on Tuesday. 

‘FFP is a good idea. It is there for protecting teams and the competition, so that nobody overspends and have to make sure the money they want to spend is based on the right sources.’

Klopp admitted from a personal point of view that he would rather have City in the Champions League next season because of the amount of fixtures it presents for their rivals, but remained disappointed but decision.

Sportsmail understands that any challenge of the ruling by UEFA to the Swiss Federal Courts is ‘unlikely’. 

CAS released their verdict on Monday morning, and said: ‘Most of the alleged breaches reported by the Adjudicatory Chamber of the CFCB (UEFA’S Club Financial Control Body) were either not established or time-barred. 

City will now be able to compete in the Champions League again next season after the verdict

City will now be able to compete in the Champions League again next season after the verdict

‘As the charges with respect to any dishonest concealment of equity funding were clearly more significant violations than obstructing the CFCB’s investigations, it was not appropriate to impose a ban on participating in UEFA’s club competitions for MCFC’s failure to cooperate with the CFCB’s investigations alone.’ 

A City statement read: ‘Whilst Manchester City and its legal advisors are yet to review the full ruling by the Court of Arbitration for Sport, the club welcomes the implications of today’s ruling as a validation of the club’s position and the body of evidence that it was able to present.

‘The Club wishes to thank the panel members for their diligence and the due process that they administered.’ 

More to follow 

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