EUROPA League
PEP GUARDIOLA OPTIMISTIC MAN CITY CAN ESCAPE BAN
Pep Guardiola, in his first press conference since being confronted with the possibility of a two-year Champions League ban for Manchester City over alleged breaches of Uefa’s Financial Fair Play (FFP) regulations, said he was confident in his club’s ability to defend its position.
Speaking after Wednesday night’s 2-0 Premier League win over West Ham, courtesy of strikes by Rodri and Kevin de Bruyne, the City manager was adamant the matter was not finished and that he hoped they would be playing in Europe next year.
“The club believes it is unfair so we are going to appeal (to the Court of Arbitration for Sport) and we are going to wait,” Guardiola, whose side remain in second place, 22 points behind runaway leaders Liverpool (76), said.
“I trust 100 per cent what my club have said and what they have done, they have explained to me the reasons. We are going to fight, and we are optimistic that next season, if we qualify for the Champions League, we will be there.”
Guardiola is under contract until the end of next season and he confirmed he will not be walking away from the club before that point.
“Unless they sack me, which can happen, I will not leave,” the Spaniard said. “Why should I? I love this club, I like to be here, and after we have seen the sentence, we will focus on what we have to do.
“I want to stay to continue to help the club and maintain this level as long as possible. That’s not just because I have a contract, we want to fight to the end for the people who support this club.”
City are battling for trophies on three fronts – the Champions League, the FA Cup and the League Cup. Guardiola insisted his players would not lose focus in light of the legal ramifications.
“We are professional on the pitch,” he added. “(We) play our games as best as possible.”
City chief executive Ferran Soriano claimed in a video interview that was posted on the club’s website the club had “irrefutable evidence” that Uefa’s charges were false.
While Guardiola admitted that evidence was not yet presented to him, he made it clear he trusted his directors implicitly.
“All I can say is that I support the club and trust what the directors have told me,” he said.
“You have to try and fight if you think you have a case and we are going to do it.”
He also responded to a taunt from Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu, who thanked Uefa for its work on FFP in the wake of its announcement regarding City.
“My advice would be don’t talk too loud, because everybody is involved in situations,” said Guardiola, a former Barca player and coach.
“Hopefully in the future, we can play against Barcelona in the Champions League.”
The case against City began after leaks of internal club e-mails in 2018 appeared to suggest the club misled Uefa’s financial controllers over the true sources of its revenue.
The most damaging allegation was that the team’s principal sponsorship with the United Arab Emirates’ state-owned airline, Etihad, was largely made up of cash infusions from City owner Sheikh Mansour’s investment fund.
List of teams which have qualified for the next round of the Europa League after the league phase concluded on Thursday, ranked by table position:
Directly to the round of 16:
1. Olympique Lyonnais (France)
2. Aston Villa (England)
3. Midtjylland (Denmark)
4. Real Betis (Spain)
5. Porto (Portugal)
6. Braga (Portugal)
7. Freiburg (Germany)
8. AS Roma (Italy)
Knockout phase play-off places (seeded)
9. Genk (Belgium)
10. Bologna (Italy)
11. VfB Stuttgart (Germany)
12. Ferencvaros (Hungary)
13. Nottingham Forest (England)
14. Viktoria Plzen (Czech Republic)
15. Red Star Belgrade (Serbia)
16. Celta Vigo (Spain)
Knockout phase play-off places (unseeded)
17. PAOK (Greece)
18. Lille (France)
19. Fenerbahce (Turkey)
20. Panathinaikos (Greece)
21. Celtic (Scotland)
22. Ludogorets (Bulgaria)
23. Dinamo Zagreb (Croatia)
24. SK Brann (Norway)
-Reuters
UEFA Europa League – Aston Villa v RB Salzburg – Villa Park, Birmingham, Britain – January 29, 2026 Aston
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Israeli club Maccabi Tel Aviv will not accept any away fan tickets for their Europa League match at Aston Villa next month, even if local authorities reverse the decision to ban their supporters, they said on Monday.
The ban followed safety concerns raised by British Police, who cited potential protests outside Villa Park, following demonstrations at Israel’s recent World Cup qualifiers in Oslo and Udine.
“From hard lessons learned we have taken the decision to decline any allocation offered on behalf of away fans and our decision should be understood in that context,” Maccabi said in a statement.
“We hope that circumstances will change and look forward to being able to play in Birmingham in a sporting environment in the near future.”
Aston Villa announced the decision last week, saying they were following instructions from the Safety Advisory Group (SAG), who are responsible for issuing safety certificates for games at Villa Park.
West Midlands Police described the match as high risk, past incidents, including violent confrontations and hate crime offences involving Ajax and Maccabi Tel Aviv supporters ahead of a November 2024 game in Amsterdam.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar described the announcement as “shameful”.
Villa are third in the Europa League standings while Maccabi Tel Aviv are 30th after two rounds.
-Reuters
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Crystal Palace’s appeal against UEFA’s decision to drop them from the Europa League to the third-tier Conference League was dismissed by the Court of Arbitration for Sport on Monday.
UEFA demoted Palace while allowing Olympique Lyonnais to play in the Europa League as, at the time of assessment on March 1, the Eagle Football Group were majority owners of Lyon while their chairman, John Textor, owned a controlling stake in Palace.
Nottingham Forest, who finished seventh in the Premier League last season, will replace Palace in the Europa League.
“After considering the evidence, the panel found that John Textor, founder of Eagle Football Holdings, had shares in CPFC and OL and was a board member with decisive influence over both clubs at the time of UEFA’s assessment date,” the CAS said in a statement.
“The panel also dismissed the argument by CPFC that they received unfair treatment in comparison to Nottingham Forest and OL.”
Palace did not respond to a request for comment. Club chairman Steve Parish told reporters on Sunday that if Palace lost the appeal, they would “have to look if there’s any steps after that.”
The club, who qualified for the Europa League as FA Cup winners, appealed against UEFA’s decision last month.
The appeal came days before New York Jets co-owner Robert Wood “Woody” Johnson completed the purchase of Eagle Football Holdings’ stake in Palace.
Textor has also resigned from Lyon’s board of directors with Michele Kang appointed chairwoman and president.
As both Lyon and Palace had qualified for the Europa League, the French club were allowed to keep their place because they had finished higher in their respective league. Lyon finished sixth in Ligue 1 while Palace were 12th in the Premier League.
“Olympique Lyonnais welcomes today’s decision by the Court of Arbitration for Sport confirming its participation in the Europa League,” Lyon said in a statement.
Palace, who won the Community Shield on Sunday , beating Liverpool in a penalty shootout, are set to play in the Conference League’s qualifying playoff round later this month.
-Reuters
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