Soccer club Arsenal Tivat banned from UEFA competitions for 10 years in match-fixing case

NYON, Switzerland (AP) — UEFA banned Montenegrin soccer club Arsenal Tivat from European competitions for 10 years on Wednesday in a match-fixing case and banned a player and club official for life.

It is the biggest ban imposed on a club by UEFA for corrupting international games since Albanian champion Skenderbeu got a decade-long exclusion in 2017.

The games in question were from the Europa Conference League first qualifying round in July 2023 against Armenian club Alashkert.

Arsenal Tivat drew the first leg 1-1 in Armenia then lost 6-1 at home in the return, including conceding two goals in stoppage time at the end of the game.

UEFA did not specify how the integrity of the games was compromised, nor give details of gambling operations in the case.

UEFA said Arsenal Tivat is banned until the end of the 2034-35 season and was fined 500,000 euros ($578,000).

Sporting director Ranko Krgovic and player Nikola Čelebić were banned for life while three more players were banned by UEFA for 10 years: Cetko Manojlovic, Dusan Puletic, Radule Zivkovic.

UEFA also banned two officials from the Radnicki Obrenovac club of Serbia: Milan Vignjevic for 10 years and Goran Janjusevic for six. Another person, Christos Psomiadis, was banned for eight years.

FIFA will be asked to extend the bans to apply globally, UEFA said.

The 10-year ban for fixing games matched the punishment UEFA gave Skenderbeu of Albania eight years ago That investigation involved a Champions League qualifying game and Europa League group-stage games.

UEFA banned Pobeda of Macedonia for eight years in 2009 for fixing Champions League qualifying games five years earlier.

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