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FC Sion lose verdict in transfer ban case

Swiss football club Sion have sustained a major defeat in their legal battles against football authorities over six players they signed despite a Fifa transfer ban.

Fifa, football’s world governing body, said on Friday that a cantonal court had ruled in favour of it and the Swiss Football League in an appeal case judgment which denies Sion’s players the right to be registered.

“The court has decided to reject the provisional measures which allowed the players to play,” said League president Thomas Grimm.

Fifa said the court in Sion overturned the interim decision “in its entirety”.

The ruling also will be welcomed at Uefa, European football’s governing body, which is set to meet Sion at the Court of Arbitration for Sport on Thursday in a dispute over the club’s expulsion from the Europa League.

Uefa kicked Sion out of the competition because they selected some of the ineligible players to beat Celtic in the playoff round.

Sion could now be stripped of results and points it gained in matches where the six players have played.

The dispute dates back to February 2008 when Sion lured Egypt goalkeeper Essam El-Hadary to break his contract with Al-Ahly and move to Switzerland.

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SWI swissinfo.ch - a branch of Swiss Broadcasting Corporation SRG SSR