Porto not admitted to Champions League
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
Article summary
The UEFA Control and Disciplinary Body has ruled that the Portuguese Liga champions FC Porto will not be admitted into the 2008/09 UEFA Champions League.
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Further information
In two cases, the Portuguese champions were last month deducted a total of six points and fined €150,000 by the disciplinary committee of the Professional Portuguese Football League. Following reports published in the Portuguese media about the issue, UEFA contacted the Portuguese Football Federation to obtain further information.
Admission criteria
The matter was subsequently referred to the UEFA judicial bodies for further examination, as there was felt to be a doubt over whether Porto fulfilled the admission criteria, notably Article 1.04 (d) of the 2008/09 UEFA Champions League regulations. The article states that to be eligible to take part in the competition a club must, among other things, not be or have been involved in any activity aimed at arranging or influencing the outcome of a match at national or international level.
Portugal judgement
The Control & Disciplinary Body considered that the offences related to the judgement in Portugal corresponded with "an activity aimed at arranging or influencing the outcome of a match," as stated in Article 1.04 (d), and that the condition set out in this provision would therefore not be met by Porto. The decision is open to appeal within three days of the sending of the decision.
