UEFA May Ban Turkish Club Fenerbahce for Three Years on Probe, Aksam Says

UEFA, Europe’s top soccer authority, may ban Fenerbahce from its competitions for three years if Turkish authorities find the league champion guilty in a match- fixing probe, Aksam reported.

Penalties for such crimes range from one to five years, and because the Istanbul-based club didn’t voluntarily withdraw from the Champions League, Europe’s top soccer competition, it missed an opportunity to disqualify for one year, Aksam said, citing UEFA regulations. The football association will reach a decision by May and a three-year ban might cost Fenerbahce more than 100 million euros ($133.5 million) of revenue, Aksam reported.

The Turkish Football Federation withdrew Fenerbahce and sent runner-up Trabzonspor to the competition. That team and cup winner Besiktas, which is competing in the UEFA Cup, may be banned from European competitions for long as five years if found guilty of rigging matches, Aksam reported.

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To contact the reporter on this story: Emre Peker in Ankara at epeker2@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Steve Bryant at sbryant5@bloomberg.net