Possible Hibs Conference League opponent banished by UEFA as 'fixed matches' controversy proves costly
A possible opponent for Hibs has been ejected from the Conference League.
A possible Hibs opponent in Conference League second qualifying has been banished by UEFA - as a campaign to reinstate them is launched amid their previous match fixing controversy.
The Hibees finished fifth in the Premiership last season and Celtic’s Scottish Cup success has unlocked a route back to the tournament they reached the play-offs in last year. Victory over Partizan Belgrade a round prior has helped them edge into being seeded for the second round ties, where a number of different clubs could be drawn.
Azerbaijani side PFK Turan Tovuz are one of the lower ranked sides on the unseeded side of the draw but UEFA have banned them from participation. The European game’s governing body sanctioned an investigation by their Disciplinary Committee into Tovuz compliance against the criteria set for Conference League participation. It was based on the decision of the AFFA (Association of Football Federations of Azerbaijan) Disciplinary Committee from December 2019 in ‘the fight against ‘fixed matches’ where seven Tovuz players were banned amid match fixing investigations. That has now cost them a place in the Conference for season 26/27 after a third placed league finish in the Azerbaijani top flight.
Why have Turan Tovuz been kicked out of Europe?
A UEFA statement reads: “On 2 June 2026, the Chair of the UEFA Appeals Body took the following decision: To declare PFK Turan Tovuz ineligible to participate in the 2026/2027 UEFA Conference League for failing to fulfil the admission criterion required by Article 4.01(g) of the Regulations of the 2026/2027 UEFA Conference League, i.e. for being directly and/or indirectly involved in activity aimed at arranging or influencing the outcome of a match at national or international level.”
Tovuz responded with a vow to appeal: “In the 2025/2026 season, we finished the season in 3rd place, following all sporting principles, and earned the right to play in the Conference League, which we are entitled to. The UEFA Disciplinary Committee conducted an investigation into whether our club met the criteria.
“It should be noted that the AFFA Disciplinary Committee banned 7 players of our team, who played in the I Division in the 2019-2020 season, from all football-related activities. We would like to announce that our club will take all legal steps from today and will appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) to change the decision and ensure our participation in the Conference League, where we qualified, while maintaining all sporting principles. We would also like to inform you that there are no changes in our preparation plans for the Conference League. This month, the team members will gather and go to Turkey for a training camp.”
This round of qualifiers is likely to be subject to regionalising, like last year, when the second round of Europa League qualifying brought Hibs into a group with sides from Denmark, Belgium, Ukraine, Moldova, Kosovo and Finland for the draw. Countries closer to home are ones to keep a particular eye on, however, facing long-distance trips to the likes of Tovuz can’t be ruled out yet.
The 2019 match-fixing ruling from the AFFA states: “As part of the fight against ‘fixed matches’ by the Association of Football Federations of Azerbaijan, matches in the First Division are regularly monitored. Based on the investigation conducted by the special commission and experts on match-fixing operating under AFFA regarding suspicious moments recorded in several matches of the football clubs Agsu, Turan Tovuz and Zira-2 playing in the first division, as well as information received from UEFA to AFFA, it was determined that the named football players and other football functionaries of the clubs, including persons who have no activity in football, participated in games where the results were manipulated.
“Taking into account the opinion of the commission and experts, as well as UEFA information and reports, all the named individuals are banned from all types of football-related activities: Turan Tovuz (I Division)Gojayev Sanan, Rustamov Misir, Bagirov Emin, Sadigov Ilkin, Mammadov Rufat, Tagiyev Eltay, Guluzade Shahin.”