Guardiola sure ban won’t stand

MANCHESTER CITY will discover tomorrow whether they have been chucked out of Europe.

City had appealed against their two-year ban, handed down to them in February by UEFA for breaches of club licensing and financial fair play regulations.

The club has always denied any wrongdoing. City had their appeal heard last month and manager Pep Guardiola has no doubt that the Court of Arbitration for Sport will rule in their favour and spare City a suspension which could cost them around £170million. He said: ‘On Monday I’m so confident because I know, and hear, and saw, the arguments of the club that next season we will be there.’

As well as the two-year European ban, City have also been hit with a fine of almost £27m.

UEFA’s club financial control body had originally found that City had committed a “serious” breach. The investigation followed claims in German magazine Der Spiegel, based on leaked documents, that City’s owner Sheikh Mansour was topping up the value of sponsorship agreements, in breach of FFP rules.

City always denied the magazine’s claims and described the investigation as “flawed”.

Guardiola’s team remain in contention in this season’s Champions League. They lead 2-1 after the first leg of their last-16 tie against Real Madrid.