FC Porto at risk of being booted out of Champions League

UEFA could exclude Dragons in wake of corruption scandal

FC Porto are at risk of being disqualified from participation in next season’s Champions League owing to the ‘Final Whistle’ corruption scandal.

The Portuguese League’s Disciplinary Committee penalised the three-time Portuguese champions with a six-point penalty and heavy fine, as well as banning club president Pinto da Costa from sporting activity for two years, for having been found guilty of attempting to bribe referees in the 2003/04 season.

The penalty was largely meaningless, given that the Dragons had already won the league by a 20-point margin, but now it has emerged that the club may be thrown out of European competition as a result of their wrongdoings.

It would prove a massive blow to the team, both in terms of prestige and financial rewards. The Portuguese club, along with Manchester United, hold the record number of appearances in what was formerly the European Cup since it adopted the Champions League format.


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The decision hangs on a recently introduced UEFA ruling that stipulates: “to compete in UEFA competitions no club can be involved in any activity destined to combine or influence the result of a match at domestic or international level.”

The exclusion of clubs found guilty of corruption is a recent addition to the UEFA regulations following the Italian “calciocaos” scandal. Milan were involved in the process and many called for them to be thrown out of the Champions League but at the time UEFA said no procedures were in place to allow this to happen. The regulations were subsequently changed.

Europe’s governing body have stated they are closely monitoring the situation. “As soon as the Portuguese Federation sends the list of clubs registered to play in next season’s UEFA competitions, we will examine the situation of the clubs in question. UEFA will only make a decision after checking that the clubs satisfy all the admission criteria,” a UEFA spokesman told Portuguese football site Maisfutebol.

Should FC Porto be suspended from playing in Europe next season, it could trigger an exodus of many of their star players, such as Lucho Gonzalez, Lisandro Lopez, Ricardo Quaresma and Bruno Alves.

An immediate consequence will see Guimaraes enter directly into the Champions League, with Benfica playing the final qualifying round to try and join the northerners and Sporting in next season’s competition.