Drastic penalty from UEFA » The possible opponent of FCSB and CFR Cluj, excluded from the European cups
Article by Mihai Șovei – Published on Wednesday, 03 June 2026, 15:17 / Updated on Wednesday, 03 June 2026 15:17
UEFA has banned Azeri club Turan Tovuz from participating in the upcoming edition of the Conference League due to involvement in match-fixing. The team had qualified for the competition after finishing third in the Azerbaijan premier league, which would have been their second European appearance and first since the 1994–95 season.
This team could be the opponent of FCSB or CFR Cluj in the second round of the Conference League.
Turan Tovuz, excluded from the Conference League
The continental forum upheld the club's exclusion under Article 4.01(g) of the Conference League regulations. It states that a club is ineligible for participation if it has been “directly and/or indirectly involved in activities intended to fix or influence the outcome of a match at national or international level”.
On 2 June 2026, the President of the UEFA Appeals Committee made the following decision:
PFK Turan Tovuz is declared ineligible to participate in the Conference League 2026/2027 for failure to meet the admission criterion imposed by Article 4.01(g) of UEFA Regulations 2026/2027, i.e. for direct and/or indirect involvement in activities aimed at arranging or influencing the outcome of a match at national or international level.
– the communique issued by Uefa
UEFA's decision is based on a verdict by the Disciplinary Commission of the Azerbaijan Football Federation (AFFA) on 13 December 2019. At the time, seven Turan Tovuz players were banned for life from all football-related activities following a match-fixing investigation.
In an official statement, Turan Tovuz announced that he will appeal UEFA's decision to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).
Among the 28 individuals suspended by AFFA were Turan Tovuz players: Gojayev Sanan, Rustamov Misir, Baghirov Emin, Sadigov Ilkin, Mammadov Rufət, Taghiyev Eltay and Guluzadeh Shahin, for “involvement in match-fixing”, according to nytimes.com.
Turan Tovuz, excluded from the Conference League / photo: Facebook Turan Tovuz PFK
As this is the first qualification of the Turan Tovuz club in a continental competition since that decision, it is the first time that the case has an impact on participation in UEFA competitions. The position of the European forum is that the club bears responsibility for the actions of its players.
According to the aforementioned source, Turan Tovuz representatives have stated that, in addition to the appeal to TAS, they will not change their training schedule for the 2026-27 season, which includes a planned training camp in Turkey.
The Azerbaijanis miss a possible duel with FCSB or CFR Cluj
The exclusion of the team from the Conference League thus prevents a possible duel with a Romanian team, FCSB or CFR Cluj.
Given that the Romanian teams were seeded in the second round, and the Azerbaijanis were not, they could have met.
