Fenerbahce Contemplating Court of Arbitration Appeal

Fenerbahce are considering challenging their expulsion from the UEFA Champions League by appealing to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) for the recent match fixing scandal.

The Turkish Football Federation (TFF) under the duress of FIFA last week barred the 2010-11 Super Lig title-winner from competing in this season’s Champions League, with Fenerbahce at the centre of the ongoing investigation. 30 people have already been jailed pending trial on charges of match fixing, including the chairman of Fenerbahce and the coach and deputy chairman of Besiktas.

Fifa, Europe’s governing body wrote to the TFF requesting that the Istanbul club withdraw from the competition or the federation step in to bar it. Fenerbahce declined to withdraw and on Monday revealed it had appointed two lawyers to conduct the legal process related to its ban.

The exclusion from the Champions League is estimated to cost the club $36 million in revenue. A club statement read: “One of the legal paths before our club is the option of applying to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). Our club is facing an unjust outcome as a result of the mistakes made from a legal point of view.”

Fenerbahce have already appeal against its exclusion and on Saturday the TFF also rejected the club’s offer to play in a lower league in a bid to manage the impact caused by the investigation. The TFF has already announced a one-month delay to its domestic season as officials continue to deal with the fallout caused by the scandal.

The new season will begin on September 9 one month after the scheduled August 7 start.