Football
Jonathan Smith, Manchester City correspondent 6y

Man City's Pep Guardiola gets Champions League touchline ban; Liverpool fined for bus attack

Pep Guardiola will spend Manchester City's first Champions League game of next season in the stands, UEFA announced on Monday, while Liverpool were only fined for their fans' assault on the City bus.

Guardiola was sent to the stands in the second leg of City's quarterfinal against Liverpool in April, and has now been handed a two-match ban, with one of those suspended for a one-year probationary period.

Meanwhile, Liverpool were fined €20,000 (£17,567) for the incidents in the first leg against City, including "acts of damage" likely related to the throwing of bottles at the City bus as it arrived at Anfield.

The bus was so damaged that it could not make the return trip to Manchester, and Liverpool condemned its fans' "completely unacceptable" behaviour.

UEFA could have opted to force Liverpool to play a game behind closed doors, among other potential punishments, but instead opted only for the fine, which also included charges for fireworks, thrown objects and crowd disturbances.

Liverpool were also fined €6,000 (£5,200) for setting off fireworks and throwing objects in the second leg at the Etihad and another €3,000 (£2,600) for lighting fireworks in the semifinal second leg at Roma.

UEFA charged Guardiola with two separate offences -- making abusive comments to a referee and then influencing a substitution having been sent off.

Guardiola stormed the pitch to confront referee Antonio Miguel Lahoz at half-time of the second leg loss at the Etihad Stadium. Guardiola was furious that the Spanish official had ruled out Leroy Sane's goal seconds earlier.

City trailed 3-0 from the first leg at Anfield and an after early goal from Gabriel Jesus and had Sane's goal stood, Guardiola's side would have been just a goal behind in the tie. However, Liverpool went onto score twice in the second half to secure a place in the semifinals.

Guardiola insisted after the game that he had not insulted Lahoz, but said the referee "likes to be special."

"I said it was a goal. That's why he sent me off," Guardiola said in April. "It was the difference between going in at half-time 1-0 and 2-0. If you go in 2-0 at half-time it's a little bit different and when it [the ball] came off Milner, it can't be offside."

In other punishments, Zenit St Petersburg were fined €70,000 after their Europa League last-16 match with Red Bull Leipzig and ordered to play a game behind closed doors, after "the racist behaviour of its supporters" towards Naby Keita, who will join Liverpool this summer.

CSKA Moscow were ordered to pay €20,000 for fireworks, thrown objects and blocked stairways against Arsenal in the Europa League quarterfinals.

Atletico Madrid were hit with a €18,000 fine for blocking stairways against Arsenal in the Europa League semifinal, while Barcelona escaped a fine but were warned "with regard to the throwing of balloons" in their Champions League quarterfinal against Roma.

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