UEFA has banned an Azerbaijani club with a Russian coach from European competitions
The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) has officially rejected the appeal filed by the Azerbaijani football club Turan Tovuz and has completely banned the team from participating in the 2026/2027 Conference League season due to match-fixing.
Sports officials determined that the club did not meet the strict eligibility criteria due to documented evidence of direct influence on match results. The team’s head coach is the renowned 73-year-old Russian specialist Kurban Berdyev.
The basis for imposing the harshest possible sanctions was a high-profile corruption scandal dating back several years. Back in 2019, the Disciplinary Committee of the Azerbaijan Football Federations Association (AFFA) conducted a large-scale investigation, as a result of which it permanently banned seven active Turan players from any football-related activities for their proven involvement in organizing match-fixing at the national level. According to UEFA regulations, such offenses have no statute of limitations when they involve a direct violation of sports integrity and the manipulation of match results.
Despite the seriousness of the charges, the management of of Turan Tovuz categorically disagrees with the verdict and has already published an official statement on its website announcing the filing of an urgent appeal with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in Lausanne to overturn the European ban. During the Azerbaijani Premier League season, Berdiyev’s team performed exceptionally well, finishing third in the final standings, which gave the club the historic right to play in the Conference League qualifying rounds for the first time in 32 years.
If the Court of Arbitration for Sport upholds UEFA’s decision and leaves the current penalty in force, this will directly affect other clubs in the Azerbaijani championship and bring an unexpected benefit to Ukrainian coaches working in that country. In particular, Baku’s “Neftchi,” coached by renowned Ukrainian specialist Yuriy Vernydub, will automatically move up in the seeding and begin its European campaign later—starting directly from the second qualifying round of the Conference League. The vacant spot in the first qualifying round, in turn, will go to the Ziria football club, which finished in fifth place in the national championship.
Source: Glavkom.
UEFA has not responded to Ukraine’s appeal regarding Russian clubs.
