Chances of Sion being DQ?

Very Low, The players would be disqualified not the entire club.

So if Sion do get kicked out Celtic get put in a group with Atletico Madrid, Udinese and Rennes :lol:

There's no way that Sion should still be in the competition. To field 5 ineligible players is ridiculous.

It's still not a good year for Scottish football.

Worse than usual, nonetheless.

Re: Sion's squad, at the very least, the matches should be replayed without those players.

Platini gives clear hint that Celtic could get Europa League reprieve

Against Celtic they had five players - Pascal Feindouno, who crucially netted twice, Mario Mutsch, Gabri, Jose Goncalves and Billy Ketkeophomphone - recruited in that timeframe and therefore deemed ineligible by the authorities.

Sion's owner Christian Constantin's strident belief that his club are in the right comes from the fact that a provincial court found in their favour last week and ordered the Swiss FA to approve their squad, prompting Infantino to warn that the country's football body and Sion could face sanctions for involving civil authorities in football matters. The club and the Swiss FA currently have a case pending at CAS, which is expected to reach a judgement in the next few days.

All of which could mean better news for Lennon, who was also pleased to be able to reveal that Emilio Izaguirre, who is believed to be making good progress with his recovery from a broken ankle, has "agreed" to a one-year contract extension, while Scott Brown is "almost there" on a four-year deal.

These follow Charlie Mulgrew inking a new one-year extension at the start of the week. "We are delighted," he said. "They are big players for us."

Lennon concedes that he is now facing his biggest test as Celtic manager after failure against Sion bookended the rage-inducing home defeat by St Johnstone. "We have to get over it quite easily because we have a championship to win," he said, admitting the failure to take Celtic into the Europa League group stages for the second consecutive year, following on from their mauling in Utrecht, was "very galling".

"It might be just the state of play at the minute; the way things are," he reflected on becoming the first Celtic manager to see his team exit at their point of entry in three consecutive European tournaments. "But, listen, the buck stops with me. I felt we had enough over the two legs to get through. We prepared as well as we could and I picked the team over the two games. There is no point in picking on the players or anybody else. I am the manager so I have to take the responsibility."

Fucking hell. Why is it so complicated? They should have just booted them as soon as it was clear they fielded ineligible players.

Celtic await call to return to the Europa League

Michel Platini hints that Sion will be thrown out of competition

CELTIC are today waiting for the call to replace FC Sion in the Europa League group stage after Michel Platini, the president of Uefa, insisted that the Swiss club are in breach of a UEFA and FIFA ruling which stated they were not allowed to field any of the six players they signed during the summer.

Uefa sources at yesterday’s group stage draw in Monaco suggested that Sion are already on their way out, just as they landed in Group I, with Atletico Madrid, Udinese and Rennes. Prior to the second leg with Sion on Thursday, Celtic submitted letters of complaint, after five players in the Swiss club’s squad that had been deemed ineligible for their Europa League qualifying matches. Celtic lost the tie 3-1 on aggregate. This disciplinary case will be heard at Uefa headquarters in Nyon on Tuesday.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport is also scheduled to give their verdict on Sion’s appeal against the ruling by Uefa and Fifa, which was given as the club are still subject to a transfer embargo.

Sion are basing their case on their interpretation of the timescale involved. Cristian Constantin, the club’s owner, has vowed to fight the ruling.

“This is a complaint of duress because they have no right to threaten FC Sion, saying that if we had a civil trial we risk being excluded,” he said. “ That is a constraint. I am ready for anything. I will fight because I can’t stand injustice and I defend my interests.

“I’m fighting against a totalitarian regime that wants to impose an injustice and that is why I attack the criminals, [Jerome] Valcke [FIFA general secretary] and [Gianni] Infantino [UEFA general secretary], for threats made.”

Uefa and Fifa have consistently stated that Sion have broken the rules, and Platini said: “What Sion did was not correct; the club did not follow the rules. There are going to be problems.”

Not least of those is that, should Sion be removed and Celtic invited to take their place, Group I would effectively have two teams from Pot 2. That is where Celtic would have placed them for the draw, had they gone through, while Sion’s were drawn from Pot 4.

If Neil Lennon’s side do take their place in the group, they will undoubtedly be in the toughest of the 12 sections: against Atletico, Udinese, who ran Arsenal very close in a Champions League play-off, and Rennes who defeated Red Star Belgrade 6-1 over two legs in the play-off round.

Infantino said last night: “Today, Sion is qualified and will participate in the draw. But tomorrow? We expect to receive Celtic’s appeal in what has been a long-running saga regarding Sion.

“The Disciplinary and Control body will decide on the issue before the group stages start. Sion has the right to go to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, who will settle the matter.”

Uefa have several sanctions open to them, and are also considering taking action against the Swiss FA who gave their approval for Sion to play their ineligible players in domestic matches after the club went to court in Switzerland to fight the ban.

“When you participate in a competition, you accept the rules,” said Infantino. “Nobody forces you to participate. If this matter is now so complex, it is because some people have done everything to make it as complex. In this case, the only winners are the lawyers.”

In a further twist last night, Servette Geneva announced that they intend to boycott their league fixture against Sion tomorrow because the club are still being permitted to field the players which the European authorities have deemed to be ineligible in league matches.
http://www.heraldscotland.com/sport/spl/celtic/celtic-await-call-to-return-to-the-europa-league-1.1120146

Why do you care Nhub? You're a St Gallen fan, not Sion?

He's a Swiss fan.
That's my guess

It's not that easy. They won their court appearance and the SFF accepted that. It's UEFA failing to adhere to this all.

Why do you care Nhub? You're a St Gallen fan, not Sion?

It hasn't been a good 4/5 years for scottish football.

2008 uefa cup final ring any bells ? forget what actually happened on the day though !!!

Team news ahead of Sunday afternoon's Scottish Premier League clash between St Mirren and Celtic at St Mirren Park (kick-off 12.45pm).

On-loan Burnley midfielder Joe McKee is added to the St Mirren squad.

The teenager has been granted international clearance following his arrival in midweek.

Nigel Hasselbaink has recovered from the tight hamstring that forced him off against Morton in midweek.

Neil Lennon will assess his players ahead of the trip to Paisley.

Beram Kayal, Kelvin Wilson, Gary Hooper and Charlie Mulgrew all played in Sion on Thursday night after recovering from various injuries.

However, they could not prevent the Hoops crashing out of the Europa League play-offs after a 3-1 second-leg defeat and Lennon, who made five changes for the game, may think about tinkering again for the trip to St Mirren Park.

Buddies (from): Samson, Mair, van Zanten, McAusland, Tesselaar, Teale, McShane, Goodwin, Thomson, McLean, Thompson, McGowan, Haddad, Hasselbaink, McKee, Carey, Barron, Smith.

Celtic (from): Forster, Majstorovic, Kelvin Wilson, Cha, Mulgrew, Ledley, Commons, Brown, Kayal, Forrest, Ki, Samaras, Hooper, Maloney, Wanyama, Zaluska, Matthews, Stokes, Mark Wilson, McCourt.