Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has described the club's successful appeal against their two-year European ban as a good day for football and told his rivals to "accept it".
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Guardiola admitted City's reputation had been damaged by the case but hit out at other managers of rival clubs who have criticised the decision.
"Today is a good day for football," he said.
"If we broke the rules we would have been banned. The club believed what they have done is right and three judges have said we have done it properly.
"The people who said we were cheating and lying, presumption of innocence were not there."
"I know for the elite clubs like (Manchester) United, Liverpool, and Arsenal it is uncomfortable for them. We don't have to ask for permission to be there. We deserve to be there. Guys - accept it."
Liverpool manager Juergen Klopp said it "was not a good day for football" while Tottenham manager Jose Mourinho said it was "a disgraceful decision" because if City were not guilty, they should not be fined.
City's two-year ban - for diverting money from owner Sheikh Mansour to boost sponsorship income and effectively balance the books - was overturned by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) on Monday.
In its ruling, the CAS found that a lot of the relevant information was "time-barred" or too late to be used under the rules.
However, the club were reprimanded for obstructing the UEFA investigations and while other breaches were "not established", City were still fined 10million euros ($A16 million) reduced from 30million euros ($A49 million).
"I don't wish anything bad on anyone but I don't think it was a good day for football," Klopp told reporters.
"Financial Fair Play (FFP) is a good idea and it was there to protect teams and the competition, and clubs have to make sure the money they want to spend is from the right sources.
"I come from Germany, where it's a different club-based system and it's not an owner system, so as long as they stick to that system, you will never have those problems. It is clear where you get the money from."
Mourinho said the ruling gave mixed messages.
"It's a disgraceful decision because if City are not guilty of it then you are not punished with 10 million," he said.
"If you're not guilty you shouldn't have a fine. If they are guilty the decision is also a disgrace and you should be banned from the competition.
"I don't know if Manchester City are guilty or not but either way it's a disgraceful decision."
Guardiola was asked about Mourinho's comments.
"We should be apologised (to)," he said.
"If we did something wrong, we will accept absolutely the decisions. We have the right to defend ourselves when we believe what we have done is right."
Australian Associated Press
