Manchester, England (SportsNetwork.com) - Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini was been given a three-match ban by UEFA on Friday with one of those games suspended for two years.
Pellegrini criticized referee Jonas Eriksson following his side's Champions League defeat to Barcelona, accusing the Swedish official of bias and influencing the game.
"The referee did not have any control of the game," Pellegrini said after the match. "He decided for Barcelona from the beginning to the end. I think it was not a good idea to put a referee from Sweden in such an important match and a referee who made a mistake against Barcelona in the group stages."
Pellegrini apologized for his comments but UEFA decided to take action, opting to suspend the Chilean tactician for the second leg at Barcelona on March 12 and potentially the club's quarterfinal first leg.
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