UEFA bans Azerbaijani club Turan Tovuz from Conference League over match-fixing case

UEFA has banned Azerbaijani club Turan Tovuz from competing in next season’s Conference League due to historical involvement in match-fixing.

The club had qualified for the competition courtesy of its third-place finish in this season’s Azerbaijan Premier League, which would have been its second appearance in continental competition and its first since 1994-95.

UEFA, the governing body of European football, has confirmed the club’s ban relating to Article 4.01(g) of the Conference League’s regulations, which cites a club being ineligible for participation based on “being directly and/or indirectly involved in activity aimed at arranging or influencing the outcome of a match at national or international level”.

In a statement, Turan Tovuz said it would appeal UEFA’s verdict to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).

UEFA’s decision was based on the verdict of the Azerbaijan FA’s (AFFA) Disciplinary Committee from December 13, 2019, in which seven of Turan Tovuz’s players received lifetime bans from all football-related activities following an investigation into match-fixing.

For the last eight months, The Athletic has been investigating the threat of fixing to the integrity of sport. Articles in this series include:

Among the 28 individuals banned by the AFFA were Turan Tovuz players Gojayev Sanan, Rustamov Misir, Baghirov Emin, Sadigov Ilkin, Mammadov Rufət, Taghiyev Eltay and Guluzadeh Shahin, for their “involvement in the manipulation of games”.

As this is Turan Tovuz’s first qualification for continental competition since that ruling, it is the first time UEFA’s competitions have been impacted by the case. UEFA’s position is that the club carried responsibility for the actions of the players.

Turan Tovuz have said that alongside appealing UEFA’s decision to CAS, they would not be changing their preparations for the 2026-27 season, including a planned training camp in Turkey.