It seems to say everything about how football’s wild economics that a club can be fined the best part of £9m - one of the largest penalties ever handed out – and yet still consider it a victory.
The vital, detailed Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) judgement is still a few days away. Yet Monday’s 377-word summary reveals enough to show that this is a technical victory for Manchester City - not a moral one.
CAS have rescinded City’s two-season ban from European competition either because the alleged offences were committed too far in the past under UEFA’s Statute of Limitation - which imposes a five-year cut-off - or because City’s refusal to cooperate with the investigation simply made it impossible to get to the bottom of them.