An Azerbaijani club has been excluded from the Conference League due to match fixing and is appealing to CAS

PFK Turan Tovuz have been banned from participating in next season’s Conference League after European football governing body UEFA ruled on Wednesday that the Azerbaijani club was involved in activities aimed at influencing match results.

The president of the UEFA Appeals Body stated that Turan Tovuz had not met the eligibility criteria for ‘being directly and/or indirectly involved in activities aimed at regulating or influencing the outcome of a match at national or international level’.

The ruling comes after Turan Tovuz finished third in Azerbaijan’s top flight, which would normally have secured their qualification for the Conference League qualifying rounds.

The club said the decision was based on a 2019 disciplinary case in which seven of the club’s players were banned from all football-related activities by the country’s football governing body (AFFA) for match-fixing.

“In the 2025-2026 season, we finished the season in third place, according to all sporting principles, and earned the right to play in the Conference League, which we are entitled to,” the club said in a statement.

“The UEFA disciplinary committee investigated whether our club met the criteria.

READ ALSO | Artist sues FIFA for vandalizing whale mural in Dallas before World Cup

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

The club said it would take “all legal steps” and appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) to change UEFA’s decision and guarantee their participation in the Conference League.

“There are no changes to our preparation plans for the Conference League,” the club added.

“This month the team members will get together and go to Turkey for a training camp.”

Published on June 3, 2026