Manchester City have barely had time to process the guilty verdict from the independent commission when a fresh row erupted — this time over Erling Haaland's media duties on international duty.
The dispute broke out in Norway after NRK's Jan Petter Saltvedt suggested City had leaned on the Norwegian FA to keep Haaland away from pre-match press obligations ahead of the Nations League meeting with Portugal.
"Nobody believes anything other than that it is Manchester City who has instructed the Norwegian FA to spare their leading jewel from the questions that would have come," Saltvedt said.
Norway manager Stale Solbakken did not take long to respond. He called the implication rubbish and insisted the call was his alone, with City playing no part whatsoever.
Solbakken went further, claiming he had not discussed media matters with anyone at City since Haaland's move from Dortmund. He also revealed he had made the decision without even telling Haaland, and offered up his phone and email accounts to reporters to prove it.
Haaland, for his part, did what he usually does. He scored in Norway's 1-2 defeat to Portugal, a result that leaves the post-match analysis to others.
For City, the timing is hardly ideal. The club are still absorbing the fallout from the commission's guilty verdict on the long-running Premier League charges case, and an appeal is already on the horizon. The last thing they need is a side-plot about media access in Oslo.
Solbakken's offer to hand over his communications should quiet the noise for now. But with City bracing for the next stage of their own legal battle, distractions are unlikely to disappear anytime soon.