Man City Manager Manuel Pellegrini "must wait to learn his fate" after UEFA officials confirmed that "they are awaiting the match delegate’s report" before deciding whether to charge the Man City manager over his attack on the “impartiality” of Tuesday night’s Champions League referee, according to Ducker & Coe of the LONDON TIMES. Pellegrini "faces a touchline ban and fine after he accused the Jonas Eriksson of deliberately setting out to favour Barcelona" in the first leg of their last-16 tie at the Etihad Stadium. He said the Swedish official “decided the game,” claiming that Eriksson had sought to “remedy” a mistake he made against Barcelona in the first leg of a Champions League quarterfinal tie against AC Milan two years ago (LONDON TIMES, 2/19). The PA's Martyn Ziegler reported FIFA VP Jim Boyce said it was "absolute nonsense" for Pellegrini to suggest that UEFA should not have chosen a referee from Sweden for such an important Champions League match. Boyce: "If the referee has proved himself at the top level it should not matter what country they come from" (PA, 2/19).
