Switzerland avoids FIFA sanctions, "Man Utd" will not return to the Champions League © EuroFootball.com

The Swiss Football Association has deducted 36 points from the club "Sion" and thus avoided strict FIFA sanctions. This penalty was imposed because the "Sion" team was represented by officially unregistered players in several matches. The Swiss FA took some time to make a decision, so FIFA threatened to remove the country's representatives from all international tournaments. In this case, not only the national team would suffer, but also clubs, and "Basel" would be expelled from the Champions League tournament, in which they sensationally reached the quarterfinals by defeating the famous "Man Utd". In the summer, "Sion" acquired five new players, although they could not do so due to an illegal agreement with the Egyptian goalkeeper Essam El Hadary. The court of one of the Swiss Cantons allowed these newcomers to play, but the Court of Arbitration for Sport did not recognize this decision as valid. Therefore, for each match in which the "illegals" appeared, "Sion" lost three points, dropping from third place in the Swiss championship standings to the last tenth place by -5 points. The decision can still be appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.