Madrid: Malaga expressed outrage and cast themselves as "sacrificial lambs" after their appeal against a UEFA ban from continental competition over late payments to creditors was rejected on Tuesday.
The decision by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) means Qatar-owned Malaga, who finished sixth in La Liga last season, cannot take up a place in the Europa League next term and eighth-placed Rayo Vallecano or ninth-placed Sevilla will compete instead.
"Shameful, pathetic, unfair that they treat us completely differently to other teams with a lot more (financial) irregularities and debts," Malaga's Spain Under-21 playmaker Isco said on his Twitter feed. Yet again they are taking away what we won on the pitch. Neither the players or the fans deserve this."
Rayo, who have not been awarded a licence to compete in Europe by the Spanish soccer federation (RFEF) due to financial problems of their own, reacted to Malaga's exclusion by saying they would appeal to CAS to try to reverse the RFEF's decision....
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10:41 PM, Jun 11, 2013
London: The Europa League, long regarded as the impoverished relation of the glitzy Champions League, was boosted on Friday by UEFA's announcement that the winners would qualify for the elite competition from 2015. In an attempt to increase the prestige of its secondary competition, UEFA also said 16 teams rather than the current six would qualify directly for the group stages. "I have thought about this for a long time,...
10:07 PM, May 24, 2013
Malaga will be free to compete in the Europa League next season after UEFA announced on Wednesday that the European ban imposed on the Spanish club had been lifted. The Costa del Sol club, who reached the quarter-finals of this season's Champions League, had been given a one-year ban by UEFA due to financial irregularities but had appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). UEFA's decision came after...
03:45 PM, May 22, 2013
Inter Milan have been fined 45,000 euros for the racist behaviour of their fans during a Europa League last 16 second-leg match at home to Tottenham Hotspur in March, UEFA said in a statement on Friday. Benfica have also been hit by a 32,000 euro fine for organisational issues and the conduct of their supporters at the Europa League last 16, first leg against Girondins Bordeaux in Lisbon last month....
12:32 AM, Apr 27, 2013
London: The bitter fallout from English football's high-profile racism case resurfaced on Friday in front of UEFA President Michel Platini as John Terry refused to shake hands with the man who stripped him of the England captaincy. The snub came at an event in London where European champion Chelsea were handing back the Champions League trophy ahead of next month's final at Wembley Stadium. Terry was sacked as England captain...
11:38 PM, Apr 19, 2013
International soccer interferes with clubs' ambitions rather than the other way round as England boss Roy Hodgson has declared, Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson said on Friday. Hodgson has accused Premier League clubs and players of treating international breaks as a holiday and says this attitude is undermining the national team's prospects. "I think if you look at the opposite side of it, international football interferes with the club's ambitions,...
11:04 PM, Apr 12, 2013
Manchester: Malaga owner Abdullah Bin Nasser Al-Thani could face disciplinary action from UEFA after Tweeting that his team's Champions League elimination was due to "racism." The Qatari was angry that Borussia Dortmund scored from what looked to be an offside position in stoppage time on Tuesday to reach the semi-finals with a 3-2 win. Al-Thani hit out at UEFA on Twitter after the match, and went further on Wednesday by...
06:22 PM, Apr 10, 2013
Manchester: European soccer governing body UEFA are planning to introduce tough new sanctions to combat racism with players found guilty of racist offences banned for a minimum of 10 matches, UEFA general secretary Gianni Infantino said on Wednesday. Infantino also said there would be partial closure of stadiums for a first incident of racist abuse by fans and a full closure for a second offence plus far tougher financial penalties....
04:12 PM, Apr 10, 2013
According to UEFA, each national association will be entitled to present up to two bids: one for the ordinary package and one for the semi-finals/final package. ...
02:03 PM, Mar 29, 2013
Nearly half the teams involved in the competition are set to progress to the 24-team finals in France. ...
11:25 PM, Mar 28, 2013
The governing body reminded referees that they had been authorisied 4 years ago to stop matches in case of racism incidents. ...
05:54 PM, Mar 28, 2013
Michel Platini also defended UEFA's decision to stage Euro 2020 across the continent and its right to question FIFA's reform process. ...
11:26 PM, Mar 20, 2013
UEFA said the Serie A club was under investigation for "racist behaviour of supporters, insufficient organisation and the throwing of missiles and/or fireworks". ...
10:55 PM, Mar 18, 2013
Michel Platini's idea that Qatar share the 2022 World Cup hosting rights with its Middle East neighbours was "crazy", UAE soccer chief Yousuf Al Serkal said. ...
05:58 PM, Mar 07, 2013
The Manchester United manager missed a mandatory news conference after his team lost to Real Madrid in the Champions League on Tuesday night. ...
11:26 PM, Mar 06, 2013
"The Champions League has killed off, annihilated other competition because of the huge interest it attracts," the UEFA president said on Saturday. ...
08:25 PM, Mar 02, 2013
Lazio's latest case follows alleged incidents of "racist behavior" during a 2-0 Europa League victory against Borussia Moenchengladbach in Rome last Thursday. ...
11:53 PM, Feb 25, 2013
Suarez was pictured stepping on Zenit defender Tomas Hubocan's back near the end of a Europa League match at Anfield last Thursday. ...
11:05 PM, Feb 25, 2013
The governing body aims to approve tougher sanctions for racist abuse at football matches when its 209 member nations meet in May. ...
08:35 PM, Feb 15, 2013
It is the second time that the Real and Portugal striker has contributed to the International Committee of the Red Cross's network of seven orthopedic centers in Afghanistan. ...
10:25 PM, Feb 13, 2013
