Soccer-Panathinaikos banned from Europe for three...
ATHENS, April 24 (Reuters) - Former Greek champions Panathinaikos have been excluded from European competition for three seasons after failing to meet financial requirements, European soccer's governing body UEFA said on Tuesday.
Panathinaikos, former European Cup finalists, have fallen on hard times in recent years. The club has undergone several changes of ownership structure and suffered dire financial problems.
"The Adjudicatory Chamber confirmed that Panathinaikos FC is excluded from participating in the next UEFA club competition for which it would otherwise qualify in the next three seasons," UEFA said in a statement.
"The Adjudicatory Chamber also ordered that the amount of 100,000 euros ($122,350)as part of the total fine of 200,000 euros is no longer suspended and is due immediately."
Panathinaikos were found in December to be in breach of the overdue payables requirement of UEFA's club licensing and financial fair play regulations and were fined.
That fine was suspended, pending a final deadline of March 2018 to resolve the issue. The club had to prove having paid the amounts owing or have concluded an agreement with their creditors, which they failed to do.
($1 = 0.8173 euros) (Reporting by Karolos Grohmann Editing by Toby Davis)