Arsenal forward Viktor Gyokeres appeared to struggle to contain his amusement as Sweden manager Graham Potter joked about Manchester City's guilty verdict during a press conference.
An independent commission found City guilty of breaching Premier League financial rules on Tuesday. Between 2009 and 2018, a period in which the club won three league titles, City 'relied on sham agreements to artificially inflate the club's revenues and reduce its costs', according to the verdict.
The club has always maintained its innocence and announced on Friday that it had lodged an appeal against the decision.
Unexpected joke at press conference
Many players and managers across football have been reluctant to discuss the saga in depth, with speculation growing over what sanctions City could face. The topic surfaced unexpectedly during a press conference ahead of Sweden's Nations League clash against Bosnia and Herzegovina on Friday night.
Gyokeres was present alongside Potter, who was giving an update on his squad after 11 players withdrew from international duty after falling ill.
'We've been hit with an infection or a bug,' Potter said. 'Not ideal, but it happens. So we've called in some players who have been fantastic.'
He then added: 'In terms of how many withdrawals, we've had a similar number to Man City's charges, I think.'
Potter's unexpected dig drew amusement in the room before he laughingly asked: 'Too soon?'
Reaction goes viral
A clip of the press conference went viral on social media, with many noting Gyokeres' awkward reaction that was briefly caught on camera, with the Gunners striker appearing to stifle a laugh.
After a difficult start to the season with Arsenal, Gyokeres has scored two goals in as many games for Sweden so far in the Nations League.
There has been speculation that the 28-year-old could leave north London, but he insists he is 'extremely happy' at the Emirates.
'It's clear that I want to play football as much as possible. Hopefully that will come, too. You always want to be on the field as a football player,' he said.
'Of course, you expect more playing time, but we have an extremely good squad with a lot of good players and have been doing well here at the start.'
