UEFA ban: 5 clubs previously suspended from the Champions League

The UEFA Champions League is widely regarded as the pinnacle of club football, a stage where legends are born and dynasties are built.

Real Madrid have lifted the famous trophy a record 15 times, while Paris Saint-Germain are the recent champions, having crushed Inter Milan 5-0 in the 2025 final in Munich.

But not every club has been fortunate enough to chase European glory without controversy. Over the years, UEFA has handed out bans to certain teams, both temporary and long-term, for offences ranging from match-fixing to financial misconduct.

Here are five clubs that have been banned from the Champions League (or its predecessor, the European Cup):

In 2013, Besiktas were banned from UEFA competitions for one season due to match-fixing allegations. The ban was related to the 2011 Turkish Cup final. The club appealed the decision, but the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) upheld UEFA’s ruling.

Besiktas weren’t alone. Fellow Istanbul giants Fenerbahce were slapped with a three-year European ban in the same year, also due to match-fixing investigations related to the 2010–11 Süper Lig season. Their appeal to CAS also failed.

Two-time European champions Juventus were excluded from European competition for the 2023/24 season after breaching UEFA’s Financial Fair Play (FFP) regulations. The violations reportedly occurred between 2012 and 2019, involving irregularities in financial reporting and accounting practices.

In a landmark case, the North Macedonian side FK Pobeda received an eight-year ban from UEFA competitions in 2009 for match-fixing. The club’s president, Aleksandar Zabrcanec, received a lifetime ban from football. This remains one of the harshest punishments in UEFA history and was upheld by CAS.

Most recently, in July 2025, the Montenegrin club FK Arsenal Tivat were banned for ten years from European competition and fined €500,000 after being found guilty of “serious breaches” of UEFA Disciplinary Regulations. The charges stemmed from a controversial 2023 Conference League qualifier against Alashkert FC.