UEFA members back FC Sion expulsion

Members of Europe’s football governing body on Wednesday said they unanimously supported UEFA’s decision to expel FC Sion from the Europa League, after the Swiss side fielded ineligible players.
“The 53 national associations of UEFA have today unanimously declared their support for UEFA,” member associations said in a statement.
Last week FC Sion, objecting to UEFA’s decision, had taken the case to Swiss courts, which ordered the reinstatement of the club to the tournament. UEFA, however, rejected the decision.
The team then took their case to Bern, asking the Swiss finance minister to withdraw UEFA’s tax breaks.
“The European national associations call upon both FIFA and the Swiss FA to urgently take concrete steps to uphold the statutes and regulations of FIFA, as UEFA has done,” the associations said.

“The European National Associations declare that any member of the football family which refuses to accept the rules of the competition should not participate in it,” it added.
Scottish club Celtic took FC Sion’s place in the Europa league, despite losing their play-off 3-1 on aggregate.