UEFA last year ruled CSKA-Sofia to be ineligible to play in UEFA competitions until 2019/20. Quietly UEFA has changed its own decision and will allow CSKA-Sofia to compete in Europe next season if they qualify. UEFA says their U-turn is based on new evidence, but will not disclose what this so-called evidence is.
By Lars Johnsen
On 4 April 2018 the international players’ union FIFPro released a statement on their website.
“FIFPro is calling for CSKA-Sofia to be suspended from European football until it pays overdue wages totaling more than 1 million euros to seven players,” the statement read.
CSKA-Sofia currently sits second in the league table and could through sporting merit qualify for European competition. It was a curious statement to make by FIFPro, after all, UEFA last year ruled CSKA-Sofia to be ineligible for Europa League or Champions League play until the 2019/20 season.
The UEFA ruling has been contested by the Bulgarian club three times through the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in Lausanne, Switzerland. CAS on all occasions rejected the club’s claims.
Why would FIFPro call for CSKA-Sofia to be suspended from European football by UEFA, when UEFA already has suspended the club from European football?
Because UEFA, without making any public statement, have overturned its own decision.
Unpaid wages
CSKA Sofia was Bulgaria’s most successful football club. They had since its formation in 1948 as the Central Sports Club of the Army won 31 domestic league titles and 20 national cups. In October 2015 the club was declared insolvent. At the time CSKA Sofia had at least one million euro in outstanding debt relating to players’ wages. Total debt was reported to be around 12 ...
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