UEFA clears Olympiakos for Champions League after sports court rules in match-fixing case

NYON, Switzerland – UEFA says Olympiakos will enter the Champions League groups draw on Thursday despite match-fixing allegations after sport’s highest court rejected an appeal by Panathinaikos.

UEFA says the “provisional admission” of Greek champion Olympiakos was confirmed on Monday by the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

Panathinaikos, league runner-up last season, challenged a UEFA appeals body decision in June to admit Olympiakos, whose president Vangelis Marinakis is implicated in an alleged criminal conspiracy to fix domestic matches.

UEFA rules bar clubs from its competitions and can disqualify them mid-season if any match-fixing allegation since 2007 is proven.

UEFA says neither the Greek football federation “nor the criminal courts in Athens have rendered any final decision against Mr. Marinakis or the club.”

Panathinaikos was eliminated in the Champions League qualifying rounds this month.

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