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Turkey's Fenerbahçe appeals Champions League shut-out
They will be replaced by Trabzonspor, the league runners-up last season on goal difference. The Turkish Football Federation (TFF) decision, taken under pressure from the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA), has stirred further turmoil in the Turkish league, which has been hit by revenue concerns since the match-fixing court case emerged. Fenerbahçe said its loss of revenues due to the Champions League exclusion will be some 25 million euros ($36 million) and its shares tumbled 9 percent on the İstanbul Stock Exchange (İMKB). However, Trabzon's shares surged 10 percent.
The club appealed the TFF's Arbitration Board to suspend and annul the decision to bar it from the UEFA Champions League. The club's lawyer, Haluk Burcuoğlu, spoke to reporters as he entered the TFF building to submit the appeal and said the club will appeal to everybody possible in order to annul the decision.
“There is nothing to say. This is a decision that has nothing to do with the law. We though the federation was autonomous, but we see it is not. They ignored their earlier decision [to wait for the indictment on match-fixing allegations] and took a decision based on a made-up notice from there [UEFA]. It is very interesting. Look at the regulations. The TFF has no authority to bar a team from the Champions League,” an angry Burcuoğlu said.
More than 30 players and officials have been jailed pending trial, including Fenerbahçe Chairman Aziz Yıldırım and the coach and deputy chairman of Beşiktaş, in connection with the alleged manipulation of 19 matches. The UEFA has written to the federation on Tuesday saying Fenerbahçe must withdraw from the Champions League or the TFF should decide to bar them or face a disciplinary investigation, the Turkish federation said.
“The [UEFA emergency] panel considered that the Turkish Football Federation took the right decision to protect the game, fully in line with our zero-tolerance policy against match-fixing,” UEFA Secretary-General Gianni Infantino said on Wednesday evening.
The TFF, which took the decision at an extraordinary board meeting on Wednesday ahead of Thursday's Champions League draw, has already postponed the start of the Turkish season by a month until Sept. 9 so its ethics committee can investigate the match-fixing allegations. The federation said last week it would not take decisions regarding those clubs linked to the probe until the court has accepted the indictment and lifts a gag order regarding the case. In the meantime last season's results stand, with Fenerbahçe confirmed as champions.
A UEFA official visited Turkey this week and met with the federation and prosecutor in the match-fixing case to collect information on the investigation. The match-fixing investigation concerns claims that some club officials and footballers had rigged games in the Spor Toto Super League and the Bank Asya League 1. Last month police raided homes and football club premises, detaining some 60 people suspected of fixing football matches in the two leagues last season. Many high-ranking football officials from various Turkish clubs, including Fenerbahçe and Beşiktaş, have been arrested on charges of fraud and match-fixing.
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