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Pep Guardiola
Pep Guardiola

Charlie Nicholas: Soccer Saturday pundit believes Man City will get Champions League ban reversed

By Charlie Nicholas
Football
Wed February 19, 2020 · 6y ago

Charlie Nicholas feels Manchester City will get their Champions League ban reversed, but does not see Pep Guardiola leaving if it is upheld.

Man City v UEFA - Who wins?

I am never sure in terms of how much you should trust UEFA. Go back to 2012 and 2016 when these things were going on - was every club clean? Were they following all of the rules and regulations? UEFA were not tidy with their assumptions. We saw enough with what was happening in their own house that there are reasons not to trust them totally. It is all fine having rules, and from what they say it seems as though Manchester City are guilty - but despite this, they are not alone.

They will need to serve their punishment, but there could be an agreement in place that City will be cleared or receive a reduced ban to a year. Celtic were knocked out of the competition on two or three occasions because of something similar.

The opposition had not registered a player and that player only played a minute and a half. It happened with other European clubs too. They appealed it. Celtic were reinstated, but the team that lost the appeal never got banned. How does that work? They should have been banned from all formats.

If City are guilty, they quite rightly should be punished, but I would not be surprised if City do not get banned and just end up with a heavy fine. We never know what is in the paperwork. UEFA seem like they want to force the issue, but they seem to be stamping down their authority, which they have never really done before, so it will be interesting. I am not convinced they will be banned.

Would ban see City departures?

There are always potential departures and rumours about who will leave or who will not leave. Man City are owned and controlled by a wealthy country, who have spent a fortune to change the set-up and build the academy and behind-the-scenes aspects, to keep these players and get the players that fit into a plan, which they have achieved.

If there was a two-year ban, Pep Guardiola said he would stay and see out his contract. If he wants to go though, he will go - it does not matter what he comes out and says.

David Silva will be leaving, Sergio Aguero could be gone too and others may move on. Like every club in the summer though there are always departures and arrivals. This time though they may not have a fortune to spend on players,

The one thing I just do not get is how English Premier League could possibly put them in the EFL League Two as a punichment, so that's a non-starter.

I think the entire thing is one of them to watch and see how it progresses and unfolds; I am not convinced they will get banned. I do not see Pep and everyone else jumping on the bus to leave either.

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