The Spanish first division football team CA Osasuna will be allowed to participate in the Conference League next season. Before the CAS, the ban imposed by UEFA was lifted.
UEFA confirmed that Osasuna had submitted evidence before CAS that the club had previously been unable to submit. UEFA reviewed this material and concluded that Osasuna was not guilty of match-fixing in 2014, which was the basis of the ban. As a result, the procedure was discontinued.
Osasuna plays in the playoffs for the group stage of the Conference League on August 24th and 31st. The club are a potential opponent for Eintracht Frankfurt – the Bundesliga side are among the seeded sides in the draw on 7 August and Osasuna among the unseeded.
punishment for match fixing from 2014
Representatives of Osasuna are said to have transferred money to two professionals from Betis Sevilla in the 2014 relegation battle so that they could make an extra effort against Osasuna’s rivals Real Valladolid on the penultimate day of the 2013/2014 season. A court therefore punished several professionals, officials and entrepreneurs, sometimes with long prison sentences.
As Osasuna had not played in Europe since 2007, the UEFA Disciplinary Body was only able to impose a penalty this season. The club successfully defended itself against this. CA Osasuna pointed out that in the spring 2020 criminal trial, the Spanish judiciary had described the club as a “victim” of the machinations of a few officials from earlier times.
Osasuna on UEFA: ‘Strong with the weak and weak with the strong’
Osasuna had accused UEFA of double standards. “Strong with the weak and weak with the strong”, the club commented on the procedure. What is meant is that big clubs get away with similar offenses without such draconian penalties from Osasuna’s point of view. UEFA is currently investigating without a result against FC Barcelona, which had paid a referee official from the Spanish football association RFEF for “advice” for years.
The slogan “Strong with the weak and weak with the strong” even made it onto fan scarves in Osasuna.
mud fight with the Spanish Federation
At the same time, Osasuna’s club management had a real mud fight with the Spanish association RFEF. Osasuna accused the RFEF of not supporting the club in the process and of having passed on information to the media that would have contributed to prejudice.
The RFEF replied that it was ‘a disgrace, a lack of respect and misconduct that the club is trying to implicate the RFEF in the matter’. An apology is expected, wrote the association, whose president Luis Rubiales is also UEFA vice-president. Osasuna responded with the opposite of an apology. Rubiales has repeatedly spoken out favorably in the Barcelona case, although the investigation at UEFA had long since begun. In the case of Osasuna, however, Rubiales referred to an obligation to remain neutral. The RFEF denied all allegations.
Further UEFA proceedings against Osasuna
However, UEFA opened a different disciplinary procedure against Osasuna. The reason: The club had filed a lawsuit against UEFA in a court of law outside of sports jurisdiction. The UEFA Statutes exclude this legal recourse.