La Liga president praises tough action

LA LIGA president Javier Tebas has praised UEFA for taking action against Manchester City after the Premier League club were handed a two-year ban from European football.

Tebas, who has been critical of City’s spending in the past, is happy to see the European governing body use its clout.

“UEFA is finally taking decisive action,” he tweeted. “Enforcing the rules of financial fair play and punishing financial doping is essential for the future of football.

“For years we have been calling for severe action against Manchester City… we finally have a good example of action and hope to see more. Better late than never.”

Former City forward Rodney Marsh has speculated that owner Sheikh Mansour could walk away from the club if the ban stands.

“If this decision is upheld it would not surprise me to see owner Sheikh Mansour sell the club,” he tweeted.

“He has been superb for City and this is a huge kick in the ba**s… I wouldn’t blame him.”

Another former City player, Michael Brown, disagreed and insisted the club would “come out fighting”.

“What they’ve done as a football club, what they’ve done on the pitch, the way they’ve gone about it, I think they’ve been first class,” he told the BBC.

“They’ve been honourable how they’ve gone about it, as usual like Manchester City. This will be a shock for them but it will be something that they’ll come out fighting.”

Meanwhile, former Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard said he will be keeping a close eye on whether the English Premier League punishes Manchester City for breaching financial regulations.

“I’m really, really interested in it… for obvious reasons,” Rangers manager Gerrard, who captained the Liverpool side during the 2013-14 campaign, told reporters.

“From a UEFA point of view, it is obviously a real strong sentence or punishment. I’m sure they will appeal so we will wait and see what the outcome is on that.” – The Independent/Reuters