UEFA Bans Osasuna FC for Decade-Old Match-Fixing

The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) has pulled the plug on Osasuna, a Spanish football club, and barred them from playing in the next season of the Conference League, as announced on the team’s official website. The reason for this is their involvement in match-fixing, which happened almost 10 years ago during the 2013/2014 season.

Interestingly, Osasuna finished in 7th place in La Liga (Spain’s top football league) in the last season, earning their spot in European tournaments. But now it turns out that their hard work was for nothing.

It seems that Athletic Bilbao, who came in 8th in La Liga, will take the club’s place in the 2023/2024 European season.

Spanish media reports say that during the 2013/2014 season, there were at least two cases where Osasuna officials paid to rig the results of matches to stay in La Liga. In both cases, the cash went to reps of Real Betis, totaling around €600,000 (about $656,000).