UEFA vice-president Michele Uva is expecting a decision from the Court of Arbitration for Sport over Manchester City's ban from European competition to take months rather than years.
Manchester City have been hit with a two-year ban from European competition from UEFA and a €30m fine after breaching financial fair play rules.
The Citizens have vowed to appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport as they seek to have the punishment dismissed.
There has been speculation over how long the process might last, but UEFA vice-president Uva is expecting a time frame of months rather than years.
"Financial fair play has brought extraordinary results", Uva said on Italian radio stadion Radio Anch'io Lo Sport.
"The rules are clear, whoever breaks them is judged by an independent commission that looks at the documents studies the accounts deeply and decides the sanction.
"City have appealed to CAS for a suspension [of the sanction].
"The times [it will take] are natural ones, however, we are talking about months and not years", he added.
If Manchester City are banned from European competition for the 2020/21 and 2021/22 seasons there will be big question marks over the future of manager Pep Guardiola.
It is also unclear to what extent Manchester City would be able to reshape their squad in the transfer market, with UEFA watching closely.
