OSASUNA have been kicked out of the Uefa Conference League next season as punishment for a decade-old match-fixing scandal.
Uefa have declared the LaLiga club as “ineligible” to participate in the third tier of European football for the 2023/24 campaign.
Osasun finished seventh in LaLiga last season after beating Athletic Bilbao to the final qualification spot by two points.
However, the club will not be allowed to play in the competition that West Ham won this season as punishment for match-fixing accusations from the 2013/14 season.
A statement read: “Club Atletico Osasuna learned, this afternoon, of the conclusions of the report drawn up by the inspectors of the Uefa Control, Ethics and Disciplinary Committee.
“In said report, the inspectors declare the ‘ineligibility of the club to participate in the Uefa Conference League 2023-2024’, thus denying it the right to participate in European competitions that it has earned fairly on the pitch.
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“The reason goes back to some events that occurred in the 2013-2014 season and which, in the opinion of Uefa, contravene its article 4.1g of the competition regulations.”
Osasuna have confirmed that they will appeal the ban to the governing body.
They added: “Strong with the weak and weak with the strong.
“The Uefa courts have not wanted to take into account that it was the Spanish courts themselves who have literally declared that Osasuna has been the victim of the diversion of money carried out by some of its former directors behind the back of the highest governing body of the entity, the Assembly, and the control mechanisms of the club itself.”
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The club has admitted that it is “prepared for the worst” but has insisted that they will “never give up”.
The Spanish outfit continued to insist that it “deservedly earned” its place in the competition.
Football Espana have reported that LaLiga rivals Bilbao are on standby to replace the Pamplona side in the competition if their appeal is unsuccessful.
The scandal in question is referred to as ‘Caso-Osasuna’ and it ended with former club president Miguel Archanco and five former club directors being sentenced to prison.
This was as a result of a court finding €650,000 (£557,000) of club funds were directed to pay players from other teams to influence results.
The Uefa Conference League has only been in existence for two years but has become popular with participating clubs’ fans.
Jose Mourinho’s Roma won the competition’s first edition in 2022 before West Ham’s victory this season.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
