July 17 – UEFA has delivered its verdict on Montenegrin club FK Arsenal Tivat, and it is brutal. Banned from European competition for ten years. Half a million euros in fines. Life bans for key figures.
It all revolves around a Conference League qualifying tie which raised red flags for European football’s governing body. Arsenal Tivat managed a respectable 1-1 draw away at Armenian side Alashkert in July 2023, only to collapse 6-1 at home in the return leg. It was the kind of capitulation that triggers alarm bells across football’s integrity monitoring systems.
Football has long been plagued by corruption scandals. There was Italy’s Calciopoli scandal of 2006, when Juventus were stripped of titles and relegated to Serie B. German referee Robert Hoyzer served prison time for manipulating Bundesliga matches, while FIFA banned Niger referee Ibrahim Chaibou for life.
What makes Arsenal Tivat’s case particularly damaging is the context of European football’s integrity crisis. UEFA and FIFA have invested heavily in monitoring systems designed to detect suspicious betting patterns. When a club triggers these systems so obviously that it results in life bans for a player, Nikola Celebic, and an official, Ranko Krgovic, it suggests either extraordinary incompetence or breathtaking arrogance.
Three other players – Cetko Manojlovic, Dusan Puletic and Radule Zivkovic – were also banned for 10 years.
UEFA’s decision to request FIFA extend these bans worldwide demonstrates how seriously European football takes integrity violations. Arsenal Tivat were fighting for survival in Montenegrin football last season, having won a relegation playoff to maintain their top-flight status. Now the club won’t see European competition again until 2035 at the earliest.
Contact the writer of this story, Nick Webster, at moc.l1752769268labto1752769268ofdlr1752769268owedi1752769268sni@o1752769268fni1752769268