TIRANA, June 20 – Albania’s sixth straight Superliga winners Skenderbeu have been provisionally included in the UEFA Champions League qualifying round draw as they await a final decision by the Court of Arbitration for Sport following a 1-year ban from European competition issued by UEFA on match-fixing allegations.
Skenderbeu were drawn against Hungarian champions Ferencvà¡ros on Monday’s draw but will be able to play next July only if the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) lifts the Albanian champions’ one-year ban.
“Skà«nderbeu are admitted on provisional measures pending a CAS decision. The hearing is scheduled for 5/6 July 2016,” said European football’s governing body.
“Ferencvà¡ros will be Skenderbeu’s opponents in the second qualifying round. The first match will be played in Korà§a on July 12 or 13 while the return match between July 18 to 19,” the club said.
Skenderbeu, who won their sixth straight Supeliga title in a final-day battle with rivals Partizani, have dismissed UEFA’s match-fixing allegations, saying its achievements have been merit-based. The Korà§a-based club in southeastern Albania is challenging the ban at the Switzerland-based Court of Arbitration for Sport.
“UEFA inspectors have cast doubts on the honesty of our results in some Albanian championship matches against Partizani, Teuta, Tirana and Vllaznia and in European cups. The investigation was launched based on information obtained by Albanian and foreign betting companies, allegations on social networks by opponent fans and specific media outlets,” Skenderbeu said in late May before it was sentenced.
Last year, Brussels-based Federbet gaming anti-corruption organization, cast match-fixing doubts on several of Skenderbeu fixtures, including the UEFA Champions League qualifying round with Northern Ireland’s Crusaders and UEFA group stage matches with Lokomotiv Moscow, Dinamo Zagreb and Sporting Lisbon.
Skenderbeu ended their last year’s Europa League campaign with a 3-0 home defeat against Russia’s Lokomotiv Moscow, finishing bottom in Group H, but making history as the first Albanian club to have made it to the group stage of a major European competition. Skenderbeu earned only three points from a 3-0 home victory against Sporting Lisbon.
Skenderbeu entered the Europa League after failing to qualify in the more prestigious UEFA Champions League after losing to Croatia’s Dinamo Zagreb in the play-off stage.
With the club’s future in European competitions uncertain for this season, two key players such as Arapi and Vangjeli have left the club and more could follow in case CAS leaves the UEFA ban in force. Top scorer Salihi is also rumored to leave the Albanian champions.
