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      Uefa hint Barcelona could be BOOTED OUT of Champions League amid claims they paid refs’ chief £6m

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      BARCELONA could be KICKED OUT of the Champions League next season as Uefa investigate allegations of payments to referees.Uefa announced in March that it was opening an investigation into the Catalan giants.
      Barcelona are being investigated by UefaCredit: Alamy
      This came after it was reported they had paid just shy of £6MILLION to companies owned by Jose Maria Enriquez Negreira, the former vice-president of Spain’s referees committee.
      The payments are claimed to have been made between 2001 and 2018.
      Uefa’s appeals body confirmed the club had been granted provisional access to the 2023-24 Champions League but acknowledged: “A future decision on admission/exclusion from the Uefa club competitions is reserved.”
      Uefa said four months ago that ethics and disciplinary investigators had been appointed to look into “a potential violation of Uefa’s legal framework” in relation to this case.
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      The appeals body said on Thursday: “The investigators in charge of the case are invited to continue and finalise their investigation and to send a further report to the appeals body if and when they consider that the admission/exclusion of FC Barcelona should be assessed.”
      Barcelona deny any wrongdoing in the case.
      Xavi’s men are set to enter the competition as a Pot 1 side after they won the LaLiga title last season.
      And they will be hoping to avoid a third straight group-stage exit.
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      Last season, Barca finished third in their group behind Bayern Munich and Inter Milan.
      They dropped down to the Europa League but were swiftly eliminated in the play-off round by Manchester United.
      Barcelona have reached just one Champions League semi-final in eight years – which came in 2019 when they spurned a 3-0 aggregate lead to lose to eventual champions Liverpool 4-3 in a remarkable tie. More

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      La Liga side have European ban OVERTURNED by Uefa just four weeks before first match

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      OSASUNA have overturned Uefa’s European ban and will compete in this year’s Europa Conference League.The LaLiga club were initially kicked out of Europe’s third-tier competition as punishment for a decade-old match-fixing scandal just four weeks before the tournament’s opener.
      Osasuna overturned their Europa Conference League banCredit: Getty
      UEFA initially banned Osasuna due to a decade-old match-fixing scandalCredit: Reuters
      The issue 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.
      That’s after a court found £557,000 of club funds were directed to pay players from other teams to influence results.
      However, the Spanish outfit appealed the decision to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) and managed to turn it around.
      Uefa found Osasuna were a “victim of the events” that occurred from the 2013/2014 season.
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      Jagoba Arrasate’s side will therefore be present on the Europa Conference League play-off draw, which takes place on August 7.
      However, Uefa have opened a different disciplinary procedure against the club.
      That is because the team went to “ordinary courts” during the ongoing process.
      However, that won’t lead to any ban from Europe and Osasuna promised not to appeal the governing body’s decision.
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      The Pamplona outfit finished seventh in LaLiga last season after beating Athletic Bilbao to the final qualification spot by two points.
      That means they may face Aston Villa in the Europa Conference League this coming season.
      Villa also finished seventh in the Premier League after a stunning turnaround under manager Unai Emery. More

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      Man City accused of accepting illicit £30million payment from ‘mystery’ figure in Middle East

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      MANCHESTER CITY have been accused of accepting a illicit £30m payment from a “mystery” figure from the United Arab Emirates.According to a new documentary, Uefa chiefs ruled that two separate £15m payments in 2012 and 2013 were used to cover for sponsorship funds that did not actually exist.
      Man City have been accused of taking a £30m payment from a mystery figure in the United Arab EmiratesCredit: Getty
      While City successfully overturned their two-year European ban in 2020, the allegations are understood to be among the claims that have left the Champions League winners facing 115 separate Premier League financial charges.
      And Prem legal experts may be likely to use the Uefa evidence to try to prove their case.
      The YouTube documentary, “Britain’s Biggest Football Scandal?” cites a 2020 report from Uefa’s Club Financial Control Board – which was never published.
      European financial experts are said to have agreed that the payments were supposed to be from the UAE telecommunications company Etisalat.
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      Instead, though, the payments allegedly “disguised equity funding” from the accounts of City’s owners, the Abu Dhabi United Group, in breach of FFP regulations.
      City are also accused of effectively paying former boss Roberto Mancini via two separate accounts — the official £1.45m salary through the club’s books and the remaining £1.75m from owner Sheikh Mansour’s Abu Dhabi football club, Al Jazira.
      Under questioning from Uefa, a City lawyer was said to have named “Jaber Mohamed” as the person who had made the payments, describing him as “a person in the business of providing financial and brokering services to commercial entities in the UAE”.
      According to Uefa, City confirmed the named payer as Jaber Mohamed, although the club declined to produce him as a witness.
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      The YouTube report claims Uefa asked: “The obvious question, not answered at any point in the club’s submission and evidence, is why either Etisalat or ADUG should have needed any financial assistance from a broker in paying the Etisalat sponsorship liabilities.”
      City insisted that Etisalat repaid the money in 2015 and the club’s successful appeal to the Swiss-based Court of Arbitration for Sport saw two of the three judges on the panel rule the claims “remain unsubstantiated”.
      CAS also ruled many of the Uefa charges could not be justified because they were “time limited” and filed too late.
      But Prem rules have no time restrictions, leaving open the prospect of further scrutiny.
      City face 115 Prem charges relating to financial reporting between the 2009-10 and 2017-18 seasons, plus charges of non-cooperation with the League investigation over five years up to and including last term.
      The Treble winners, who have vehemently and vociferously maintained their innocence of all claims and charges, declined to comment on the latest allegations.
      But there are likely to be private questions from the club over the documentary makers, Sunrise Media, registered in the British Virgin Islands as recently as June 9, amid suspicions that the source of the allegations may be linked to UAE’s Gulf rivals, the state of Qatar. More

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      Uefa introduce new ‘anti-Chelsea’ transfer rule after Enzo Fernandez and Mykhailo Mudryk signings

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      UEFA have introduced a new “anti-Chelsea” transfer rule following the signings of Enzo Fernandez and Mykhailo Mudryk. The Blues splashed out huge money to land a host of talents last season.
      Mykhailo Mudryk signed for Chelsea on a long-term deal in JanuaryCredit: Getty
      But as well as spending £600million in transfer fees, the Stamford Bridge side tied their new players down to mammoth long contracts.
      Some of those were up to six, seven or even eight-and-a-half years.
      It was done to spread the costs of deals – such as the British-record £106million for Fernandez – over a longer period and therefore get around Uefa’s Financial Fair Play regulations.
      As a result, Chelsea’s transfer “spend” for the 2022-23 campaign was just £98m.
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      However, Euro bosses are closing that loophole with their new rule.
      Uefa’s executive committee have ruled that all transfer deals, starting this summer, must be calculated over a maximum of five years, irrespective of the contract length.
      Uefa said the limitation would “ensure equal treatment of all clubs”.
      It does not ban longer-term deals from being signed and the rules will NOT be introduced retrospectively.
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      The new legislation will take effect from July 1 – when the international transfer market opens.
      Wesley Fofana and David Datro Fofana are tied down at Stamford Bridge until 2029.
      Benoit Badiashile and Noni Madueke’s contracts run until 2030.
      But it is Mudryk and Fernandez who will not become free agents until a staggering 2031. More

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      Fans fume at ‘garbage’ Uefa after stream for England U21s against Israel is hit by tech nightmare

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      FANS have fumed at Uefa after suffering issues trying to watch England’s Euro U21 clash against Israel.Many had hoped to watch the group stage fixture on the Uefa website but were continually sent to the Italy match instead.
      Fans were unable to watch the England U21s take on IsraelCredit: Uefa
      Newcastle’s Anthony Gordon netted the opening goal for EnglandCredit: EPA
      It appeared that the website had been incorrectly labelled and left fans confused as they could not watch the match.
      England faced Israel at the Ramaz Shengelias Sakhelobis Stadium in Georgia as they looked to make it two wins from two.
      The Young Lions beat the Czech Republic U21s 2-0 on Thursday thanks to goals from Jacob Ramsey and Emile Smith Rowe.
      But fans were left frustrated at being unable to watch the action as they took to social media.
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      One complained: “But not in England & your site is down – fantastic work again from Uefa for the fans.”
      A second tweeted: “The stream for Israel v England isn’t working, it goes to the Switzerland game.”
      A third wrote: “Streams not working, goes to Italy/Switzerland game no matter what you click on.”
      A fourth commented: “Anyone else getting sent to the Italy game when trying to watch England on the UEFA TV app??”
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      A fifth said: “Can’t get onto the right game. Seems we can only watch Switzerland vs Italy. Nuts.”
      A sixth declared: “There you go – total garbage.”
      It took a few minutes for Uefa to fix the issue and properly signpost the website.
      England took the lead in the 15th minute through Newcastle’s Anthony Gordon.
      They had an earlier effort from Smith Rowe ruled out for offside.
      England doubled their lead in the second half as the Arsenal star managed to net from outside of the box.
      And they would go on to win the game 2-0. More

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      Bizarre refereeing decision leaves England fans baffled as Uefa accused of acting like ‘a charity’

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      ENGLAND fans were left utterly confused following their side’s 7-0 win over North Macedonia on Monday evening.Gareth Southgate’s men raced into a 3-0 half-time lead at Old Trafford thanks to goals from Harry Kane, Bukayo Saka and Marcus Rashford.
      England fans were confused about a decision at the end of their comfortable winCredit: Channel 4
      Bukayo Saka bagged his first England hat-trick at Old Trafford on Monday eveningCredit: Getty
      After the break, two more from Saka completed the Arsenal man’s hat-trick.
      Kane helped himself to a second from the penalty spot and Kalvin Phillips also got his name on the scoresheet.
      As well as the stoppages for the four goals and spot kick, there were also 10 substitutions made in the second period.
      Yet despite all of those breaks in play, referee Istvan Kovacs did not play ANY added time at the end of the 90 minutes.
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      It left Three Lions supporters baffled as they took to social media to comment on the rather bizarre decision.
      One said: “I think we can all agree the biggest takeaway from England 7-0 North Macedonia was 0 minutes being added on after four goals, a penalty and ten substitutions.
      “You’re not a charity, Uefa.”
      Another added: “I actually rang in the radio once to ask about this, why do they only add on the exact minutes if the game is tight? What if I had a bet on 8-0?
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      “It’s mental how some rules are just ignored.”
      A third replied: “They genuinely make it up. A game with one goal in it and you’re guaranteed 4 minutes or more added on.”
      While a fourth jokingly responded: “I’m gonna be fuming If it goes down to goal difference.”
      England’s win over North Macedonia maintains their 100 per cent record in their Euro 2024 qualifying campaign. More

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      Champions League final ref Szymon Marciniak to KEEP role after apologising over far-right links following Uefa probe

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      SZYMON MARCINIAK will keep his role as Champions League final referee after Uefa probed alleged links with a far-right politician.The Polish whistler was originally appointed to officiate Manchester City’s clash with Inter Milan in Istanbul next week.
      Szymon Marciniak has been selected to referee next week’s Champions League finalCredit: Getty
      His participation was subsequently in doubt, however, following allegations that he appeared as a speaker at a far-right event in Poland.
      Polish anti-racism group Never Again claimed that Marciniak promoted and even participated in an event organised by Slawomir Mentzen.
      Mentzen, 36, is leader of Poland’s Confederation Party – which uses a vile slogan denouncing Jewish and gay people – in addition to standing against abortion, taxes and the EU.
      Uefa released a statement following the allegations against Marciniak.
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      It read: “Uefa is aware of the allegations surrounding Szymon Marciniak and is seeking urgent clarification.
      “Uefa and the whole football community abhor the ‘values’ that are promoted by the group in question and takes these allegations very seriously.
      “A further announcement will be made, after reviewing all the evidence.”
      Following their probe, Uefa elected to keep Marciniak on as Champions League final ref after receiving a lengthy apology and clarification.
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      Marciniak, 42, allegedly appeared as a keynote speaker at a far-right event
      European football’s governing body added that anti-discrimination groups asked for Marciniak to keep his role as Champions League final ref.
      The far-right event that Marciniak was allegedly involved in took place on May 29.
      At the event entitled “Everest” – Marciniak was listed as a keynote speaker.
      The referee has officiated eight Champions League matches this term, including Manchester City’s semi-final second leg mauling of Real Madrid.
      He also took charge of last year’s World Cup final in Qatar.
      The Pole took charge of Manchester City’s Champions League semi-final mauling of Real MadridCredit: Getty More

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      Fears over Champions League final fan safety with chiefs concerned over violence in the streets in Istanbul

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      UEFA chiefs have more than just their fingers crossed that the Champions League final in Istanbul will go off smoothly.Nyon bosses are due to outline their official future steps later this week.
      The Champions League final will be played in Istanbul on June 10Credit: AFP
      It comes in the aftermath of last season’s chaos in Paris.
      And Manchester City fans who booked flights in expectation of a semi-final win over Real Madrid could be walking into a precarious situation in Turkey for reasons outside of football.
      Hardline president Recep Erdogan is in a brutal re-election fight with rival Kemal Kilicdaroglu before a first round of voting on May 14.
      Unless either gets more than 50 per cent of the vote there will then be a decisive second round two weeks later.
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      That is less than a fortnight before the European football showpiece event in the Ataturk Stadium on June 10.
      And there are fears that a tight result at the polls could see people on the streets and potential violence.
      The prospect of travelling fans being caught in Turkey’s domestic strains is causing significant concerns among Uefa’s top brass.
      The European governing body is also having to deal with disappointed VIPs and sponsors.
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      The Ataturk only has 12 top-of-the-range “Sky Boxes” at the stadium.
      But ensuring the “ordinary” fan is safe is a bigger issue.
      The Ataturk Stadium will host the biggest club match in European footballCredit: Getty More