Turkish Clubs Face Europa League Expulsion Over Match-Fixing Scandal

Turkish soccer clubs Sivasspor and Eskisehirspor face a Europa League ban for involvement in a domestic match-fixing scandal in 2011. 

Both clubs were implicated in deliberately losing to eventual champions Fenerbahce late in the 2010-2011 season.

UEFA rules demand clubs are disqualified from the Champions League or Europa League if match-fixing is proven since April 2007, when its legal statutes were updated to take tougher action against clubs involved in corruption.

It was unclear Wednesday if Turkish clubs next in line for potentially vacant Europa League places would be judged eligible to play.

It’s not the first time that Turkish Superlig is in the eye of the storm, as newly crowned champions Fenerbahce were handed a two-year ban from European football for match-fixing last August.