Two Turkish Clubs Banned by UEFA for Match-Fixing

Allegations of Match-Fixing have arisen and resulted in two Turkish clubs being banned. The allegations stem from the play of the two clubs in games against Fenerbahçe during the 2010-11 season of the Turkish league, when the two clubs were found to have intentionally lost their games against the eventual league champion. 

Regulations Violated

The final decision of the Appeals Body cited Articles 2(07)g, 2(08) and 2(09) of the Regulations of the UEFA Europa League 2014-15 competition, declaring that Eskisehirspor and Sivasspor did not meet the admission criteria for participation in UEFA competition.

The violated eligibility clause calls for any and all participant clubs "not have been directly and/or indirectly involved, since the entry into force of Article 50(3) of the UEFA Statutes, in any activity aimed at arranging or influencing the outcome of a match at national or international level and must confirm this to the UEFA administration in writing."

One More Appeal Possible

Within the next ten days, the clubs do have the opportunity for one more appeal - to the higher sporting authority of the court of the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).

Disturbing Trend

This is the latest in string of Turkish club controversies, as last year UEFA had banned Fenerbahce from European competition for three seasons, and Turkish club Besiktas was from last year's Europa League. It remains to be seen if the zero tolerance policy for match fixing has discouraged all further match-fixing attempts.