FK Arsenal Tivat have been suspended from UEFA club competitions for 10 years, with a match commentator describing the players as better artists than footballers.
UEFA has banned FK Arsenal Tivat, a Montenegrin football club, from its competitions for 10 years following a match-fixing investigation.
The regulator also fined the club €500,000, citing violations of Articles 11 and 12 of the Disciplinary Regulations.
The case centres on the club’s two matches against Armenian team Alashkert FC during the 2023/24 UEFA Europa Conference League qualifiers. The first leg ended in a 1-1 draw, but suspicions were raised after Arsenal Tivat suffered a 6-1 defeat in the second leg.
Two years later, UEFA’s Control, Ethics and Disciplinary Body (CEDB) found the club, players, and officials guilty of breaching the governing body’s Disciplinary Regulations (DR).
UEFA’s article 11 sets out general principles of conduct, prohibiting actions that damage football’s reputation, violate loyalty and integrity, or bring the game into disrepute.
Article 12 addresses match-fixing, manipulation of results and any behaviour that compromises the fairness of competition.
UEFA has requested that FIFA extend the ban worldwide, as it has done with all sanctions related to this case.
Individual bans
Several individuals involved in the case have also received long-term suspensions.
Nikola Čelebić and Ranko Krgović, who both play for FK Arsenal Tivat, have been banned for life from all football-related activity.
Fellow players, Cetko Manojlović, Radule Živković and Dušan Puletić have each received 10-year bans.
Milan Vignjević, an Arsenal Tivat official, has also been banned for 10 years.
Goran Janjušević, an official at Serbian club FK Radnički Obrenovac, has been handed a six-year suspension. Meanwhile, Greek goalkeeper Christos Psomiadis has been banned for eight years.
Insider Sport has asked UEFA to clarify Janjušević and Psomiadis involvment with the case, as well as the differing lengths of the bans.
The correct decision?
This case involves FK Arsenal Tivat, not to be mistaken for England’s Arsenal FC. The situation reveals a striking example of match-fixing at the UEFA club competition level, something rarely seen in recent years.
Insider Sport had a look at the highlights of the game to better understand how the event unfolded. Arsenal Tivat only conceded its first of six in the 39th minute before letting in the second just before half-time.
After entering the pitch for the second half, Alashkert FC scored its third goal within the space of two minutes; Arsenal Tivat responded with a goal of its own in the 57th minute.
At this point in the game, no alarm bells for match fixing were being rung despite questionable defending from Arsenal Tivat. However, in the 73rd minute, Alashkert FC scored their fourth goal of the game – at this point, it was clear Tivat had no intention of remaining competitive.
Gevorg Ghazaryan, Head of Media at FC Ararat-Armenia, has shared his thoughts as someone who witnessed the match from the commentary box.
Posting on X, Ghazaryan explained he provided commentary on the game. When asked if he suspected foul play during the match, he responded: “To be honest, the main thoughts were… ‘too easy win’. But looking back to that match I can say that Arsenal’s player were better artists than football players.”
Highlights of the match can be found HERE.
