Galatasaray Banned from European Competition by UEFA

Turkish giants Galatasaray have been banned from competing in all European competitions by UEFA for one season, effective upon qualification within the next two seasons.

UEFA confirmed the ban on Wednesday with a statement on their website in which it’s noted the club will not be allowed to compete in the Europa League or the Champions League in 2016-17 if they were to qualify via domestic competition. However, if they were to miss out, the ban would be carried over into the 2017-18 season.

“The Turkish club has also been ordered to limit the overall aggregate cost of the employee benefits expenses of all its players in each of the next two reporting periods (i.e. the reporting period ending in 2016 and the reporting period ending in 2017),” continued the statement.

The Turkish-Football.com Twitter feed thinks that the sanctions may actually come as a blessing in disguise for the club, as it will trigger an overdue change in mentality:

This season, Galatasaray competed in the Champions League, although they were eliminated from their group, containing Atletico Madrid and Benfica, after finishing third.

It meant the club moved into the Europa League, although in their first knockout match in European football’s second-tier competition, they were beaten by Italian outfit Lazio by a 4-2 aggregate scoreline.

Galatasaray are currently languishing in fifth in the Super Lig in what's been a hugely disappointing campaign; they trail league leaders Fenerbahce by 16 points. They would need to finish in the top four to secure European qualification and currently trail fourth-place Istanbul BB by two points.