UEFA rocked football when they handed down a serious punishment to Manchester City for a breach of Financial Fair Play rules.

The punishment was as much for City's lack of cooperation as it was for the breach and UEFA were willing to slam the hammer down.

As it stands, City will have a two-year Champions League ban, as well as having to pay a £25m fine.

There hasn't really been a punishment quite like this and unsurprisingly, City haven't taken it very well.

The club has denied any and all wrongdoing, claiming that the entire disciplinary process was a foregone deal before it began.

They've lodged an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, where they hope to get the punishment overturned.

And then there's the reaction of the City fans.

So venomous is the backlash towards UEFA - including a banner that labelled the governing body a 'cartel' - that officials are taking safety precautions.

UEFA have reportedly told their officials to take those precautions in games featuring City, according to the New York Times.

The first of those was on Wednesday as they faced Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu and UEFA officials wore plain clothes, instead of branded clothing.

They'll apparently do the same when the two teams clash at the Etihad Stadium next month.

In all, it's a bizarre situation and one that probably isn't going away for some time.

Are UEFA overreacting? Possibly, but it's certainly true that neither City or their fans are taking the punishment lying down.