UEFA banned Turkish Fenerbahce and Besiktas from European tournaments

UEFA's Control and Disciplinary Committee has banned Be?ikta? and Fenerbahçe from European competitions on match-fixing charges. Besiktas has been banned for one year, while Fenerbahçe has received a two year ban, with an additional one year possible if a similar infraction is committed within a probationary period of five years.

Besiktas's Chairman Fikret Orman said that they had not expected such a decision, adding that they would be filing an appeal and applying to the Court of Arbitration of Sport (CAS) if necessary.

The club has three days to appeal the decision. UEFA returned the report on former official Serdar Adali and former coach Tayfur Havutçu, both sentenced to one year and three months in jail, to the inspector on the case. The inspector is said to be preparing a new report before making a definitive ruling.

Fenerbahçe also said in a statement that it would appeal the ruling.

Bursa, Kayseri and Kasimpasa to take Europe ticket

If the appeals of both clubs are rejected, Bursaspor, who came fourth in the table, will take Fenerbahçe's spot in the Champions League, while Kayserispor, who came fifth, will participate in the Europa League instead of Besiktas. Istanbul minnows Kasimpasa will take the Europa League seat vacated by Bursaspor to participate in the first European competition in their history.

Both Istanbul clubs and their executives were involved in a match-fixing investigation that started July 3, 2011, regarding a number of games in the 2010-2011 season, at the end of which Fenerbahçe was crowned as champion.

Fenerbahçe was banned for a year from participating to European competitions upon a decision from the Turkish Football Federation, while Besiktas could not compete last year due to financial woes.


/HurriyetDailynews.Com/