Celtic await call to return to the Europa League

Senior Sports Writer

Saturday 27 August 2011

Michel Platini hints that Sion will be thrown out of competition

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ronnie cully in sion ronnie.cully@heraldandtimes.co.uk

CELTIC are today waiting for the call to replace FC Sion in the Europa League group stage after Michel Platini, the president of Uefa, insisted that the Swiss club are in breach of a UEFA and FIFA ruling which stated they were not allowed to field any of the six players they signed during the summer.

Uefa sources at yesterday’s group stage draw in Monaco suggested that Sion are already on their way out, just as they landed in Group I, with Atletico Madrid, Udinese and Rennes. Prior to the second leg with Sion on Thursday, Celtic submitted letters of complaint, after five players in the Swiss club’s squad that had been deemed ineligible for their Europa League qualifying matches. Celtic lost the tie 3-1 on aggregate. This disciplinary case will be heard at Uefa headquarters in Nyon on Tuesday.The Court of Arbitration for Sport is also scheduled to give their verdict on Sion’s appeal against the ruling by Uefa and Fifa, which was given as the club are still subject to a transfer embargo.Sion are basing their case on their interpretation of the timescale involved. Cristian Constantin, the club’s owner, has vowed to fight the ruling.“This is a complaint of duress because they have no right to threaten FC Sion, saying that if we had a civil trial we risk being excluded,” he said. “ That is a constraint. I am ready for anything. I will fight because I can’t stand injustice and I defend my interests. “I’m fighting against a totalitarian regime that wants to impose an injustice and that is why I attack the criminals, [Jerome] Valcke [FIFA general secretary] and [Gianni] Infantino [UEFA general secretary], for threats made.”Uefa and Fifa have consistently stated that Sion have broken the rules, and Platini said: “What Sion did was not correct; the club did not follow the rules. There are going to be problems.”Not least of those is that, should Sion be removed and Celtic invited to take their place, Group I would effectively have two teams from Pot 2. That is where Celtic would have placed them for the draw, had they gone through, while Sion’s were drawn from Pot 4.If Neil Lennon’s side do take their place in the group, they will undoubtedly be in the toughest of the 12 sections: against Atletico, Udinese, who ran Arsenal very close in a Champions League play-off, and Rennes who defeated Red Star Belgrade 6-1 over two legs in the play-off round.Infantino said last night: “Today, Sion is qualified and will participate in the draw. But tomorrow? We expect to receive Celtic’s appeal in what has been a long-running saga regarding Sion.“The Disciplinary and Control body will decide on the issue before the group stages start. Sion has the right to go to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, who will settle the matter.”Uefa have several sanctions open to them, and are also considering taking action against the Swiss FA who gave their approval for Sion to play their ineligible players in domestic matches after the club went to court in Switzerland to fight the ban.“When you participate in a competition, you accept the rules,” said Infantino. “Nobody forces you to participate. If this matter is now so complex, it is because some people have done everything to make it as complex. In this case, the only winners are the lawyers.”In a further twist last night, Servette Geneva announced that they intend to boycott their league fixture against Sion tomorrow because the club are still being permitted to field the players which the European authorities have deemed to be ineligible in league matches.

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Celtic await call to return to the Europa League

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