Soccer-Azerbaijani club banned from Conference League over match-fixing to appeal to CAS

PFK Turan Tovuz have been declared ineligible ​to participate in next season's Conference ​League after European football's governing ‌body UEFA ​ruled on Wednesday that the Azerbaijani club was involved in activities aimed at influencing match outcomes. The UEFA Appeals Body ‌chair stated Turan Tovuz had failed to meet admission criteria for "being directly and/or indirectly involved in activity aimed at arranging or influencing the outcome of a match at national ‌or international level."

The ruling comes after Turan Tovuz finished third in Azerbaijan's top flight, ‌which would normally have secured their qualification for the Conference League qualifying rounds. The club said the decision was based on a 2019 disciplinary case where seven of the club's players were banned from ⁠all football-related ​activities for match-fixing ⁠by the country's soccer governing body (AFFA).

"In the 2025-26 season, we finished the season in third place, following ⁠all sporting principles, and earned the right to play in the Conference League, which we are ​entitled to," the club said in a statement. "The UEFA Disciplinary Committee conducted an ⁠investigation into whether our club met the criteria.

"It should be noted that the AFFA Disciplinary Committee banned ⁠seven ​players of our team, who played in the I Division in the 2019-20 season, from all football-related activities." The club said it would take "all legal steps" and appeal ⁠to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) to change UEFA's decision and ensure their ⁠participation in the ⁠Conference League.

"There are no changes in our preparation plans for the Conference League," the club added. "This month, the team members will gather ‌and go ‌to Turkey for a training camp."

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