Beşiktaş could face Europe ban for misleading UEFA

UEFA had sent an auditor from PricewaterhouseCoopers to İstanbul to examine the club’s finances and produce a final report. In the report, which the Sabah daily published on Tuesday, it was stated that the club had not paid the money it owed some players, though it had told UEFA that it had paid all its debts in order to remain eligible to play in the UEFA leagues.

Following these developments, UEFA asked Beşiktaş to return all 8 million euros the team had been paid by the European body for games won this season as a fine for its actions. The club administration also requested an appearance before UEFA’s Control and Disciplinary Body on May 1 to defend itself. If the club fails to provide an adequate defense and is judged guilty, it will have to pay 8 million euros and will be banned from playing in the UEFA leagues.

Speaking to the press on Tuesday morning, new Beşiktaş Chairman Fikret Orman stated that UEFA has asked the club to withdraw from European cups in the coming season. He stated: “UEFA has investigated the club’s accounts since the time of the previous administration. Later it referred Beşiktaş to a disciplinary board. This is something that everyone already knows. Thus, we have a hearing date set for May 1. There are some accusations from UEFA. We will attend the hearing and defend the club. UEFA claims that we need to withdraw from European cups for not heeding some UEFA criteria in the past.”

He added that the upcoming hearing on May 1 has nothing to do with the match-fixing scandal that erupted last July.