Liverpool manager Juergen Klopp has said he 'feels sorry' for Pep Guardiola and the Manchester City players after the club were banned from European competitions for two years.
The ruling body UEFA issued the sanction Friday and fined the Premier League champions 30 million euros (32.5 million dollars) for "serious breaches" of its Financial Fair Play (FFP) rules by overstating their sponsorship revenue between 2012 and 2016.
Manchester City have 10 days to take their intended appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) to fight against the ban.
"It was a shock when I heard it and saw it," Klopp said after Liverpool's 1-0 win over Norwich on Saturday.
"I have no idea how these kind of things works, how it happens. All I can say as a coach that Man City, Pep Guardiola play sensational football.
"I can imagine it's really hard at the moment. ou have sports people telling you everything is fine and UEFA sees it obviously different.
"I feel for Pep and the players because for sure they did nothing wrong but then again we have to respect some rules."
The Champions League returns with its last-16 phase this week as defending champions Liverpool travel to Atletico Madrid on Tuesday.
City take on Atletico's city rivals Real Madrid on 26 February.
