UEFA ban club from Europe as statement issued

A club has been banned from competing in next season’s UEFA Conference League following a ruling by European football’s governing body.

Just days after Crystal Palace became the fifth club to lift the Conference League with a 1-0 win over La Liga minnows Rayo Vallecano, courtesy of Jean-Philippe Mateta’s strike, another club has been sanctioned by UEFA.

Azerbaijani side PFK Turan Tovuz have been banned from next season’s competition due to historical match-fixing, with UEFA Article 4.01(g) of the Conference League regulations stating that a club’s ineligibility may be based on “being directly and/or indirectly involved in activity aimed at arranging or influencing the outcome of a match at national or international level”.

Turan Tovuz issue statement on UEFA ban

In a statement, the club claimed the ban is directly related to a disciplinary matter from seven years ago, which resulted in the nation’s football federation (AFFA) banning seven players - Gojayev Sanan, Rustamov Misir, Baghirov Emin, Sadigov Ilkin, Mammadov Rufət, Taghiyev Eltay and Guluzadeh Shahin - from all football-related activities.

They also pledged to take “all legal steps” necessary, as well as claiming they will appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in the hope of seeing the ban overturned.

The statement read: “In the 2025/2026 season, we finished the season in 3rd place, following all sporting principles, and earned the right to play in the Conference League, which we are entitled to. The UEFA Disciplinary Committee conducted an investigation into whether our club met the criteria. The decision of the AFFA Disciplinary Committee dated December 13, 2019.

“It should be noted that the AFFA Disciplinary Committee banned seven players from our team, who played in the I Division in the 2019-2020 season, from all football-related activities.

“We would like to announce that our club will take all legal steps from today and will appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) to change the decision and ensure our participation in the Conference League, where we qualified, while maintaining all sporting principles.

“We would also like to inform you that there are no changes to our preparation plans for the Conference League. This month, the team members will gather and go to Turkey for a training camp.”

The club, which finished third in the Azerbaijan Premier League last term, will remain excluded from the competition unless the appeal is successful.

PFK Turan Tovuz have not competed in European competition since the 1994-95 campaign.

Ajax, Brighton and Atalanta are among the notable teams set to compete in the 2026/27 Conference League.

Aleksander Čeferin stance on match-fixing

UEFA President Aleksander Čeferin previously described match-fixing as a "disease that attacks football’s very core".

Speaking about the issue in 2017, he said: "One of my key missions as UEFA President is to step up the campaign to protect the integrity of our sport, and to stop the manipulation of matches, illegal betting and corruption.

“Match-fixing cannot and will not be tolerated, and those caught must be banned from football.”