By David Gold
September 5 – Turkish outfit Fenerbahçe have confirmed that they have opened a case against UEFA and the Turkish Football Federation (TFF) after they were thrown out of the Champions League and replaced with last year’s runners up Trabzonspor.
Fenerbahçe were kicked out for their role in a match fixing scandal on the eve of the draw for the Champions League group stage in August.
The TFF is still investigating a case which has seen more than 30 players and officials jailed in Turkey pending a trial including Fenerbahçe’s chair Aziz Yıldırım.
The disgraced club are alleged to have sought to influence the selection of referees and the outcome of matches in a season when they won the league title on the last day of the campaign.
Other clubs under investigation include Trabzonspor, ironically, and Beşiktaş, but Fenerbahçe are angry at the loss of revenues they will be denied from the decision to expel them from European competition.
The club expect a decision by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) by next weekend.
“The case is opened with a demand now for €45 million (£39 million/$64 million) and reserving the right for more in connection with our material loss due to the said exclusion,” a spokesperson for Fenerbahçe said.
Fenerbahçe also want to be reinstated in the Champions League into Group B, alongside Lille, CSKA Moscow and 2010 champions Inter Milan.
The Istanbul giants have been hit financially by the crisis, with their shares plummeting, as well as those of city rivals Beşiktaş and Galatasaray taking hits since the scandal emerged.
But those two sides, as well as Trabzonspor, were boosted by the decision to remove Fenerbahçe from Europe, with shares rising on the news two weeks ago, adding to last year’s champions’ problems.
The TFF is waiting on Turkish courts before coming to a decision over punishments for guilty parties in the affair – a process that could run into 2012.
It has also since decided to change the structure of their league to settle the title through a play off, in a bid to raise revenues and prevent a recurrence of the match fixing scandal.
The league season, which was postponed from last month, is finally due to start this weekend.
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