UEFA have removed Fenerbahce from the Europa League and banned them from next season’s Champions League as part of a match-fixing case.
GettyImagesMoussa Sow in action for Fenerbahce during their Champions League qualifying defeat against Arsenal.
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The Court of Arbitration for Sport had allowed the Turkish side to complete a two-legged Champions League qualifier against Arsenal, which they lost 5-0 on aggregate, while their appeal was considered.
But their original two-year UEFA ban was upheld after club officials were judged to have helped fix matches in order to win the 2011 Super Lig title.
Speaking ahead of the verdict, striker Moussa Sow was confident that the club could exceed last season’s semi-final defeat, but admitted if the ban was upheld then the club would concentrate on domestic success.
He told ESPN FC: “We could go even further in the competition this time, so it’s up to us to put in the same sort of performances as we did last year, and try to just regroup and go again.”
“It would be great to play in the Europa League, but if not, we’ll just have to focus on the league.”
Sow added that there was a strong desire within the Fenerbahce dressing room to make amends after a limp exit at the hands of the Gunners. He said that the Super Lig side arrived in London with an almost impossible task after their first leg horror show at the Sukru Saracoglu Stadium.
“It was hard conceding three goals at home to start with,” he said, “and on top of that, coming here and needing to win was never going to be easy. It didn’t work out and we have to say they were stronger than us, which is a shame because we badly wanted to qualify for the Champions League.”
The 27-year-old, signed from Lille in January 2012, felt that Fenerbahce had at least recovered some pride in an improved display.
“We just wanted to be more aggressive than in the first leg,” he said. “We managed to take more possession of the ball this time and Arsenal are a team who pass it very well, but we managed to get tighter on them, and to stop them attacking quite as much. Now, we just have to put it behind us and concentrate on the league.”
Linked with a move to the Emirates himself during his Ligue 1 days, Sow is keen to remain with Fenerbahce despite the club’s off-field problems and continuing interest in his fine performances.
“I feel really good here,” he said. “I’ve been here 18 months now. I had a good first [full] season and I hope and expect that to continue.”
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