Chelsea and Man City both hit with UEFA punishments but Man Utd escape

UEFA have announced their list of punishments for matches that took place in March and April after a decision taken by the Control, Ethics and Disciplinary Body on May 9. Chelsea and City are among the teams to have received punishments for fan behaviour during the Champions League semi-finals.

The Sky Blues have received the biggest penalty of the two with the club forced to pay £4,570 (€5,250) for the lighting of fireworks and throwing objects during the first leg with Bayern at the Eithad.

Chelsea have also been forced to dig into their pocket after a fan entered the field of play during the first leg against Real Madrid at Stamford Bridge with UEFA slapping a £3,842 (€4,000) on the club.

In contrast, United are one of the team’s to avoid any punishment. The club’s 2-2 draw with Sevilla at Old Trafford has come under scrutiny but only the away side have been given any fines. The La Liga club will have to pay £6,528 (€7,500) for the fireworks and improper team conduct.

With so much money in football today the fines are unlikely to cause any stress at any of those punished however it can be embarrassing to be on the receiving end.

City are current favourites to win the Champions League after holding Real Madrid to a 1-1 draw at the Bernabeu in midweek. However, Sky Blues boss Pep Guardiola has been unhappy with the scheduling ahead of the crunch clash. Eurovision in Liverpool means their Premier League clash with Everton must be played on Sunday, leaving little time for preparation.

“We play on a Sunday, thank you so much!” the Spaniard said in his pre-match press conference. “I’m sure the Premier League want to help teams, they don’t want to make us uncomfortable, but the problem is the schedule.

“This amount of competitions, this amount of games. I think we cannot play on Saturday because there is Eurovision and the city does not have enough bodies, or the capability to handle so many people.

“We have to adapt. What can I do? We’d prefer to play Saturday so we can prepare more, definitely.”