Metalist Kharkiv disqualified from CL for fixing links

UEFA disqualified Metalist Kharkiv from the Champions League on Wednesday for links to match-fixing in Ukraine,and could now reinstate PAOK Thessaloniki. World footballs most prized club competition has further legal issues with another team,Fenerbahce,also fighting expulsion over a years-old domestic match-fixing case as it prepares to play Arsenal in the playoffs next week. The Ukrainian club was scheduled to play Schalke next Wednesday in the first leg of the playoff,after eliminating PAOK 3-1 on aggregate in the third qualifying round last week. UEFA charged Metalist last week after CAS upheld sports director Yevhen Krasnikovs five-year ban,imposed by the Ukrainian Football Federation. Krasnikov allegedly helped fix a 2008 Ukrainian league match against Karpaty Lviv. UEFAs Champions League rules require clubs not to have been involved in fixing.