Champions League, Europa League, Conference League? Not for 10 years: UEFA punishes club over shocking misstep

In an extraordinary ruling that has sent shockwaves through European soccer, UEFA has issued a 10-year ban to a club that recently participated in continental competition, barring them from all UEFA-organized tournaments—including the Champions League, Europa League, and Europa Conference League—until the 2034-35 season. The decision stems from serious violations of UEFA’s disciplinary code following an investigation into a suspicious qualifying round match in the 2023-24 Europa Conference League.

What makes this case particularly unsettling is the sheer severity of the punishment, both in terms of the club ban and the lifetime and multi-year suspensions handed out to players and officials. It marks one of the harshest disciplinary measures in the governing body’s modern history.

Match under scrutiny: 7-2 loss that sparked alarm

The controversy centers around a match in July 2023, when the now-sanctioned club, Arsenal Tivat from Montenegro, faced Alashkert from Armenia. After drawing 1-1 away, the club suffered an astonishing 6-1 defeat at home, a result that immediately raised eyebrows due to its unusual pattern—including two late stoppage-time goals conceded. The scoreline led UEFA’s Control, Ethics and Disciplinary Body (CEDB) to launch a comprehensive investigation.

As outlined in UEFA‘s official statement, the charges against the club involved breaches of Article 11 (general principles of conduct) and Article 12 (integrity of matches and match-fixing) of the UEFA Disciplinary Regulations.

“The CEDB has decided to fine FK Arsenal Tivat €500,000 [$578,400] and to exclude [them] from participating in UEFA club competitions for the next ten (10) years (i.e. up to and including the 2034/35 season) for the violation of Art. 11 and 12,” the statement read.

UEFA has also requested that FIFA extend the sanctions globally, which would effectively bar the club from participating in any international or domestic tournament governed by FIFA-affiliated bodies.

Wave of bans: Players and officials hit hard

The fallout goes beyond just the club. Several individuals associated with the case have been banned from soccer for a decade or more, with two lifetime bans among the sanctions.

• Nikola Celebic, a defender for the club, has been banned from all soccer-related activity for life.
• Ranko Krgovic, the club’s sporting director, received an identical lifetime ban.
• Players Cetko Manojlovic, Radule Zivkovic, and Dusan Puletic were each given 10-year bans.
• Serbian club Radnicki Obrenovac officials Milan Vignjevic and Goran Janjusevic received 10-year and six-year bans, respectively.
• Christos Psomiadis was handed an eight-year suspension.

“These measures are necessary to preserve the credibility and integrity of soccer. Match-fixing undermines the core values of the game,” a UEFA disciplinary source commented, speaking to Reuters.

Harshest ban in over a decade

The 10-year punishment matches the previous record set in 2017, when Albanian club Skenderbeu received the same sanction for match-fixing in UEFA competitions. It also surpasses the eight-year ban handed to Macedonia’s Pobeda in 2009.

What makes the current case more remarkable is that UEFA has not publicly disclosed the precise mechanisms of how match integrity was compromised—nor has it revealed whether betting patterns or outside influences played a role in the decision. This veil of mystery has only added to the drama.