UEFA ban Metalist Kharkiv from Champions League

Posted on August 20, 2013 by SoccerPunter

The Champions of Ukraine Premier League, Metalist Kharkiv, have failed in their appeal to overrule a Champions League ban imposed for match-fixing, the Court of Arbitration for Sport announced on Monday.

UEFA banned them after they were found guilty by the CAS of match-fixing in their Ukraine Premier League.

On August 2, a CAS Panel determined that Metalist Kharkiv, as well as some individual club officials, were guilty of match-fixing in relation to a Ukrainian Premier League game with Karpaty in 2008.

PAOK from Greece Super League will replaced Metalist for this week Champions League play-off clash with Germany Bundesliga club Schalke 04.

In a statement, the CAS said that it had rejected Metalist Kharkiv‘s request for “urgent provisional measures” to block the ban, which the Ukrainian club had filed the previous day.

“Accordingly, the UEFA decision remains in force,” the Swiss-based tribunal said.

Metalist Kharkiv, who had filed their first emergency request to the CAS last Thursday, went on to submit a new one on the grounds that they had assembled fresh evidence in their favour.

The stakes were high for the Ukrainians because they were only kicked out of this season’s Champions League last Wednesday, with the competition already under way.

UEFA subsequently opened proceedings against the Ukrainians, resulting in the ban and a new berth for PAOK, who had been eliminated by Metalist in the previous qualifying round.