The European football body UEFA has banned the Macedonian club FK Pobeda from European competitions for eight years because its president and a former player fixed the outcome of a Champions League game in a betting coup.
FK Pobeda's president Aleksandar Zabrcanec and former captain Nikolce Zdravevski were both given lifetime bans from all football activities in Europe.
UEFA's disciplinary panel issued the verdicts after a seven-hour hearing, judging that Zabrcanec and Zdravevski made sure Pobeda lost a Champions League qualifying match against the Armenian club Pyunik in July 2004.
Pobeda lost 3-1 in the first leg at home after going three goals down in the first half. Pobeda lost 4-2 on aggregate.
