Geneva, Switzerland – Swiss club FC Sion lost its legal fight with UEFA on Thursday, as the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) decided the club "is not entitled to be reintegrated in the UEFA Europa League."
Sion qualified for the group stage of the tournament, but was later kicked out of the event because it used ineligible players in a qualification series with Scottish side Celtic.
"The CAS has confirmed that UEFA was right in enforcing the FIFA regulations and that the UEFA disciplinary bodies were right in declaring the games of FC Sion in the UEFA Europa League lost by forfeit," UEFA said in a statement.
"This respect of the rules has to be applied at all levels: players, clubs, leagues and in all competitions, in order to preserve what football stands for."
UEFA had considered allowing Sion to rejoin the tournament if it won its case, but the Swiss side only ended up with a fine of approximately $42,500 in legal costs it must pay UEFA.
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