Manchester City and UEFA have both responded after the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) somewhat surprisingly overturned the Premier League side's two-year ban from the UEFA Champions League.
After hearing the arguments, CAS ruled on Monday that "most of the alleged breaches reported by the Adjudicatory Chamber of the CFCB (UEFA Club Financial Control Body) were either not established or time-barred".
In addition, City's fine was reduced from €30 million (R577 million) to €10 million (R192 million).
The Citizens, who were confident throughout that the ban would be overturned, were delighted with the outcome, which means they will take part in next season's UCL after already securing enough points on the pitch.
"Whilst Manchester City and its legal advisers are yet to review the full ruling by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), the club welcomes the implications of today's ruling as a validation of the club's position and the body of evidence that it was able to present," an official statement from the Citizens read.
"The club wishes to thank the panel members for their diligence and the due process that they administered."
UEFA's reaction was less euphoric, but the European football body insisted they will continue with the implementation of Financial Fair Play.
UEFA's statement read as follows: "UEFA takes note of the decision taken by the Court of Arbitration for Sport to reduce the sanction imposed on Manchester City FC by UEFA's independent Club Financial Control Body for alleged breaches of the UEFA Club Licensing and Financial Fair Play regulations.
"UEFA notes that the CAS panel found that there was insufficient conclusive evidence to uphold all of the CFCB's conclusions in this specific case and that many of the alleged breaches were time-barred due to the five-year time period foreseen in the UEFA regulations.
"Over the last few years, Financial Fair Play has played a significant role in protecting clubs and helping them become financially sustainable, and UEFA and ECA remain committed to its principles.
"UEFA will be making no further comments on the matter."
As a consequence, there are only two UEFA Champions League qualification spots left up for grabs in the Premier League, with Chelsea (60 points) and Leicester City (59 points) currently occupying third and fourth place, respectively, but Manchester United (58 points) could overtake both of them with a win over Southampton on Monday night.
