UEFA bans Turkish club Trabzonspor, see reason

Turkish Super Lig leaders, Trabzonspor has been handed a one year ban by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for breaching its Financial Fair Play regulations.

The European football governing body said this on Wednesday June 3 in a statement which revealed that the Turkish club “failed to be break-even compliant as required by a settlement agreement, which it entered into on 20 May 2016”.

The ban would be applied if the club qualifies for European soccer next season or in 2021-22, but would not be implemented after that. The statement reads in part;

"On 5 July 2019, the UEFA Club Financial Control Body (CFCB) Adjudicatory Chamber determined that Trabzonspor A? (TUR) failed to be break-even compliant as required by a settlement agreement, which it entered into on 20 May 2016 and sanctioned the club with a conditional exclusion from participating in one (1) UEFA club competition for which it would otherwise qualify in the 2020/21 and 2021/22 seasons," UEFA said in a statement.

"The sanction would not take effect if the club fulfilled certain conditions, including meeting a target with respect to its financial results for the 2019 financial year.

"The CFCB Adjudicatory Chamber has now determined that Trabzonspor A? failed to meet the target fixed for the 2019 financial year.

"As a result, the CFCB Adjudicatory Chamber has ordered that the club be excluded from participating in one (1) UEFA club competition for which it would otherwise qualify in the 2020/21 and 2021/22 seasons."

The FFP rules were introduced in 2011 and were designed to stop teams spending more than they generate themselves, a move aimed mainly at stopping rich club owners from buying success with large cash injections.

AC Milan and Manchester City have both been barred from European football for breaking the rules, although the latter have appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).

Trabzonspor who have not played since mid-March due to the Coronavirus pandemic, are level on points with Istanbul Basaksehir at the Super Lig summit with eight games remaining.