UEFA to decide Porto´s Champions League future by June

FC Porto will have to wait until June 4 to see if they can play in next season's Champions League, when a UEFA committee will give its ruling over a match-fixing scandal.

The Portuguese champions were notified of UEFA's decision to open an enquiry to verify if they are eligible for the 2008/9 competition, a spokesman said Thursday.

Earlier this month, Porto were found guilty by the Portuguese league of fixing two league matches in 2003/04, the same season they won the Champions League – the world's richest club competition.

As a result the club was docked six points, the club's president Jorge Pinto da Costa was suspended for two years and Boavista were relegated to the second division for their part in match-fixing.

The club has not appealed against the points deduction, though, da Costa has against his penalty.

The affair, which came to light in April 2004, also resulted in five referees being suspended for periods between two-and-a-half and six years for either accepting the offer of prostitutes after matches or one who received 2,500 euros prior to a match.

Porto – who were managed by former Chelsea coach Jose Mourinho at the time of the scandal though he has not been implicated in the affair – won this season's league by a 20-point margin over rivals Sporting Lisbon.