Barcelona UEFA doesn’t want teams linked to possible match-fixing: Precedents for Barcelona…
Back in 2017, UEFA changed their competitions’ eligibility rules. They did so because of several precedents, but especially due to the cases of Anderlecht in 1996 and AC Milan ten years later.
That change may affect Barcelona, who could be banned from participating in the next edition of the Champions League. The teams willing to participate in European competitions must present the necessary documentation before June 1.
Barcelona president Joan Laporta and former presidents Josep Maria Bartomeu, Joan Gaspart and Sandro Rosell are having to testify about the Negreira case in court before that deadline.
UEFA decided in 1996 to set up an internal commission to investigate allegations that Anderlecht had allegedly bought two matches. Eighteen months later, in September 1997, the UEFA Executive Committee took the decision to declare the Belgian club ineligible to participate in their competitions for the 1998/99 season.
The UEFA Executive Committee concluded that Anderlecht had been involved in two match-fixing cases. The first related to the UEFA Cup match between Anderlecht and Banik Ostrava played on October 19, 1983, and the second to the UEFA Cup semi-final between Anderlecht and Nottingham Forest played on April 25, 1984.
The Belgian club threatened to go to the ordinary courts, so the case ended up at CAS, which allowed the appeal despite evidence of match fixing, finding that the UEFA Executive should accept the court decision.
Ten years later history repeated itself, in this case with AC Milan, following the match-fixing scandal known as Calciopoli. Investigations led by the Italian police revealed that a network of club managers, officials responsible for referees and others had tried to influence the outcome of several Serie A matches.
Several clubs such as AC Milan, Fiorentina, Reggina and Lazio were sanctioned by the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) while Juventus were relegated.
However, AC Milan managed to qualify for the 2006/07 Champions League. UEFA faced a real legal dilemma on whether to allow a club that had been sanctioned for their involvement in Calciopoli to participate in a UEFA competition the following season or not.
The AC Milan precedent
The UEFA Emergency Panel concluded that they had no choice but to accept AC Milan‘s participation in the 2006/07 UEFA club competitions on formal grounds due to an insufficient legal basis in the regulations that would allow AC Milan to be banned in certain circumstances.
AC Milan went on to win the competition by beating Liverpool in the final on May 23, 2007. The situation was further exacerbated as the 2006/07 Champions League was won by a club that had been found guilty of match-fixing activities only a few months before the competition kick off.
UEFA’s response to the AC Milan case was swift. At the next UEFA congress, which took place in January 2007, a new paragraph was approved for Article 50 of the UEFA Statutes. That amendment, which is still in force nowadays, established a two-stage process aiming to ensure the integrity of UEFA competitions. The first stage consists of an administrative measure, whereby the offending club are excluded from European competitions for one season.
Administrative and disciplinary measure
The second stage consists of disciplinary measures, which may be imposed after the administrative measure and have no maximum duration.
“The admission to a UEFA competition of a Member Association or club directly or indirectly involved in any activity aimed at arranging or influencing the outcome of a match at national or international level can be refused with immediate effect, without prejudice to any possible disciplinary measures,” reads Article 50(3) of the UEFA Statutes.
Logically, this regulation has also been incorporated into the laws governing the Champions League, Europa League and Conference League.
“To be eligible to participate in the competition, a club must fulfil the following criteria: it must not have been directly and/or indirectly involved, since the entry into force of Article 50(3) of the UEFA Statutes, i.e. 27 April 2007, 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,” reads the UEFA rulebook.
How far can UEFA go under the protection of CAS?
After UEFA modified their statutes, the rest of the Confederations, starting with the Asian ones, joined this measure, in what can be considered as a universal decision and one of the most important in the world of football in recent years.
The Court of Sport (CAS) supported this change, as reflected in various awards issued after it came into force, due to the need to act quickly in order to guarantee UEFA’s image and reputation.
