Published 17:09 IST, February 16th 2020
Jurgen Klopp 'shocked' to hear about Man City ban; says he 'feels sorry' for team
The club has thus been barred from UEFA club competitions in the next two seasons (ie. the 2020/21 and 2021/22 seasons) and pay a fine of € 30 million.
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp stated that he was shocked when he heard Manchester City had been banned by the UEFA for two seasons. Klopp was speaking after the Reds' victory over Norwich City in the Premier League.
Klopp "shocked" to hear about the ban
Klopp said, "It was shocking when I heard it. I have no idea how these kinds of things work or happen, but what I can say as a football coach is that Manchester City under Pep Guardiola plays sensational football. That is how it is. I have always admired what he is doing, what they are doing and that will not end in this moment."
He added that he felt sorry for the squad and the players and that Pep had helped to improve the quality of the league. "To be honest, I feel for Pep and the players, wow, because for sure they did nothing wrong, they just played football, and sensational football at that. Whatever Pep was, he helped each league to improve football. But then again, we all have to respect some rules. I have no idea if they did or not, but obviously UEFA sees it like this that they didn't, and we will see what happens."
On Friday evening, UEFA released the findings of its report of its investigations. The statement read that UEFA found that the club " committed serious breaches of the UEFA Club Licensing and Financial Fair Play Regulations by overstating its sponsorship revenue in its accounts and in the break-even information submitted to UEFA between 2012 and 2016." The authority also found that the "Club failed to cooperate in the investigation of this case by the CFCB." The club has thus been barred from UEFA club competitions in the next two seasons (ie. the 2020/21 and 2021/22 seasons) and pay a fine of € 30 million.
Manchester City has stated that the club will be taking the case to the "Court of Arbitration for Sport at the earliest opportunity.
Updated 17:09 IST, February 16th 2020