By Gareth Messenger
May 22 – European football’s governing body, UEFA, has confirmed that Malaga have had the second year of their European ban lifted but remain prohibited from playing in next season’s Europa League.
The Andalusian outfit who reached this season’s Champions League quarter-finals were banned from the next European competition they qualified for over the next four seasons due to delays in payments to creditors. The punishment also threatened the club with a further year ban from Europe unless they proved by March that all outstanding payments had been settled.
A decision taken by UEFA’s Club Financial Control Body (CFCB) in Nyon said that Malaga had “fulfilled the conditions” imposed and that the second ‘conditional’ year of their punishment will not apply to the Qatari-owned club.
Malaga are appealing the original sanction to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) and if that one-year ban is overturned then Malaga will be free to play in next season’s Europa League, should they qualify. The club are in the qualifying places at the moment, but have to face Deportivo La Coruna and champions Barcelona in their final two games of the season.
In other CFCB decisions released today, Romania’s Rapid Bucharest were deemed not to have met the conditions imposed on them and would be banned from competing in the next UEFA competition they qualified for in the next three seasons as well as receiving a fine of €100,000. Ukraine’s Arsenal Kiev had also failed to meet conditions and have been fined €75,000.
The CFCB lifted sanction on five other clubs that had fulfilled the conditions imposed on them – HNK Hajduk Split and NK Osijek from Croatia, Romainia’s Dynamo Bucharest, and Serbia’s FK Partizan and FK Vojvodina.
Contact the writer of this story at moc.l1738748782labto1738748782ofdlr1738748782owedi1738748782sni@r1738748782egnes1738748782sem.h1738748782terag1738748782. Gareth is Editor-in-Chief, www.laliganews.tv @G_Messenger