European football’s governing body, UEFA, has a long-standing reputation for enforcing strict rules across its competitions – and over the years, several clubs have paid the price.
A total of 13 clubs have been excluded from participating in the Europa League for various infractions, ranging from financial irregularities to match-fixing scandals.
While UEFA manages prestigious tournaments like the Champions League, Europa League, Conference League, and European Championship, it doesn’t hesitate to take disciplinary action when rules are broken.
Notable Cases:
Besiktas were hit with a one-year suspension in 2013 after being found guilty of domestic match manipulation.
Fenerbahçe, also from Turkey, received a two-year ban for similar reasons.
AC Milan were excluded from the 2019/20 Europa League due to violations of Financial Fair Play (FFP) regulations. The club accepted the ruling, according to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).
Malaga (Spain) missed out on the 2013/14 season because of unsettled debts. Although a two-year ban was initially given, only one year was enforced after an appeal.
FC Sion (Switzerland) were disqualified from the 2011/12 Europa League after fielding players in violation of a FIFA transfer ban. This allowed Celtic to rejoin the competition that year.
In 2017, Partizan Belgrade (Serbia) faced a three-season suspension over financial issues, which was later lifted once the club proved their debts were cleared.
Rangers FC (Scotland) were barred from European competition in 2013/14 because they failed to meet UEFA’s accounting deadline, as confirmed by the club’s administrator.
Rapid Bucharest and Steaua Bucharest (Romania) both received bans in 2013. While Rapid got a one-year exclusion and a fine, Steaua were given a suspended ban with a five-year probation due to match-fixing allegations.
Dnipro (Ukraine) missed out in 2016 after UEFA sanctioned them for unpaid bills.
Inter Baku (Azerbaijan) and Târgu Mureș (Romania) were both handed one-season suspensions for breaching financial rules.
The most severe punishment came in 2018, when Skënderbeu (Albania) received a 10-year UEFA competition ban and a €1 million fine. CAS upheld the decision, citing extensive evidence of match manipulation in both domestic and European matches.
While some of these penalties applied to both the Champions League and Europa League, clubs were prevented from entering whichever competition they had qualified for during a three-year enforcement window.
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