LAUSANNE, Canton of Vaud: Ukrainian side Metalist Kharkiv have been thrown out of this year’s Champions League over match-fixing claims, and will be replaced by PAOK of Greece, UEFA said yesterday.
PAOK, who had lost 3-1 on aggregate to Metalist in the third qualifying round, will now face Schalke 04 of Germany in a play-off on August 21 and 27 to enter the group stage of the competition.
The new tie means PAOK’s coach Huub Stevens, who steered Schalke to UEFA Cup glory in 1997 during the first of two stints at the club, will be up against the team who sacked him last year.
“It’s great for PAOK that we are now in the play-offs and even more so for me as I’ll be up against Schalke which is a familiar place for me with many friends and acquaintances,” said Stevens, who coached the Gelsenkirchen side from 1996 until 2002, then from September 2011 until last December.
“Of course, it will be difficult, but we will fight for our chance to go through.”
Schalke’s general manager Horst Heldt said the Royal Blues’ task will not be any easier against the Greeks, who finished second in last season’s Greek top flight and will travel to Germany for the first leg on August 21.
“No one has to now think that it will be any easier just because they didn’t qualify directly,” said Heldt yesterday.
UEFA said that PAOK, who had been due to drop down into the Europa League, will not be replaced in that competition, meaning their scheduled play-off round opponents, Maccabi Tel-Aviv of Israel, advance directly to the group stage.
“This decision is final,” said European football’s governing body, although they acknowledged that Metalist can still appeal the disqualification to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
Kharkiv have said they will do just that, with the club’s Vice-President Kostyantyn Pyvovarov telling the Russian news agency Interfax: “We’ve got an appeal ready, because we were prepared for any eventuality. We will fight for the rights of the club and protect them in accordance with all legal requirements.”
UEFA opened disciplinary proceedings against the Ukrainian club in early August after suspicions were raised about matches they were involved in.
Given that qualifying for this year’s competition was already under way, the case was heard directly by UEFA’s appeals tribunal.
“The UEFA Appeals Body carefully analysed the statements and documents submitted by the club, as well as the statements and documents submitted by the UEFA Disciplinary Inspector and reached the following decision: FC Metalist Kharkiv are disqualified from the 2013/14 UEFA competitions,” UEFA said.
Bayern Munich are the defending champions of the Champions League. AFP
