Osasuna gets banned from the Europa Conference League by UEFA
CA Osasuna gets banned from the 2023/24 Europa Conference League after an investigation by the UEFA board. UEFA confirmed that they will investigate after the 2022/23 season ends.
After finishing 7th in La Liga, Osasuna fans were happy as they were about to play in Europe. However, everything changed after the club was accused of a potential ban relating to match-fixing issues a decade ago.
Moreover, in January, several members of the former board of directors were convicted of crimes for “misappropriation, accounting crime, falsification of documents and sports corruption”.
The UEFA board have been investigating to determine if the club was involved or if it was limited to specific individuals as part of an extended background check.
Osasuna head coach Jagoba Arrasate was confident that the decision would be in their favour. But, UEFA has given a negative update.
Osasuna gets banned from the Europa Conference League Over Fixing Accusations
The club finished 7th in La Liga last season and qualified for the UEFA Conference League, but UEFA has deemed them ineligible to play.
CA Osasuna has also received a one-year ban from UEFA. The recommendation is about ‘Caso-Osasuna’, a match-fixing scandal that dates back to the 2013/14 season.
Osasuna fans in disbelief after UEFA ban
The scandal ended with former club president Miguel Archanco and five former club directors sentenced to prison after a court found €650,000 of club funds were payed to opposition players to influence results.
The Spanish club have said that they will appeal the decision at UEFA’s competition body appeal committee.
Their El Sadar ground would have been full to bursting each time a European opponent played their next season. But now it’s likely that the club won’t get the chance to enjoy games across the continent unless their appeal to UEFA succeeds.
Their rivals Athletic Club are on stand-by to replace them as they finished 8th in the 2022/23 season.
