Barcelona could be excluded from UEFA competitions for an entire season if investigations establish that the club was directly or indirectly involved in an attempt to influence the outcome of matches, under Article 4 of UEFA’s regulations.
According to AS, Article 4 gives UEFA the authority to declare a club ineligible for its competitions when, based on the information and circumstances available to it, the governing body concludes that the club has participated in activity intended to manipulate or affect the result of a match.
The rule applies whether the alleged conduct took place in domestic or international football. Any resulting declaration of ineligibility would apply for one football season, meaning Barcelona could be prevented from entering one of UEFA’s club competitions for a season if the governing body decides that the conditions set out in Article 4 have been met.
UEFA’s regulations do not require a prior court judgment before the organisation can act. The rules allow UEFA to consider all information and circumstances it regards as relevant to the case when reaching its decision.
The governing body may also take account of rulings issued by sporting bodies, arbitration tribunals or state courts. However, UEFA is not bound by the conclusions reached by those bodies when making its own decision on the club’s eligibility.
There is one provision under which UEFA may choose not to exclude a club. If the governing body considers that an earlier ruling by a sporting or judicial authority, relating to the same facts, has already resulted in the club being barred from one of UEFA’s competitions, it can decide against imposing a further exclusion.
Barcelona’s position in this respect will therefore depend on the findings reached by the relevant UEFA bodies regarding the evidence and facts under investigation. The key issue will be whether those findings satisfy the specific requirements of Article 4, including the condition that the club was involved directly or indirectly in activity aimed at manipulating or influencing a match result.
At this stage, the possible sanction is conditional on UEFA’s assessment of the case. The regulations provide the framework for a one-season exclusion, but the final decision will depend on how UEFA evaluates the available information and any findings from the competent authorities.