Its one thing to be knocked out of a competition; its another thing altogether to be chucked out or not even allowed to enter in the first place.
Each team here was punished in such a way for one reason or another, from administrative errors to war.
Lets take a look at some notable bans and disqualifications from football history
All English clubs (UEFA competitions, 1985-1991)
After the 1985 Heysel Stadium disaster in which 39 people, most of them Juventus fans, died amid crowd trouble at the European Cup final against Liverpool in Brussels, UEFA imposed a blanket ban on English clubs from competing in its competitions at a time when hooliganism was rife in the English game.
As a result, the following sides all missed out on playing in the European Cup, UEFA Cup and/or Cup Winners Cup: Liverpool, Everton, Manchester United, Tottenham, Southampton, Norwich, West Ham, Sheffield Wednesday, Oxford, Coventry, Arsenal, Wimbledon, Nottingham Forest, Luton and Derby.
The suspension was lifted for most clubs in 1991, with Liverpool serving an extra year.
Barnsley (FA Cup, 2023)
FA Cup disqualifications for fielding ineligible players arent unheard of by any means, but its rare that such a fate befalls a professional club. It happened to League One Barnsley in 2023, though.
The Tykes were booted out of the worlds oldest cup competition after playing striker Aiden Marsh in a first-round replay win over Horsham but Marsh had been out on loan for the original tie, meaning he wasnt permitted to feature in the replay. This mistake, Barnsley said, falls well below the high standards we set at this club.
Besiktas (UEFA competitions, 2013-2014)
One of the biggest clubs in Turkey, Besiktas were slapped with a one-year ban from UEFA competitions for their involvement in domestic match-fixing.
The Istanbul outfit appealed the decision to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) but were unsuccessful and, as such, were unable to take part in the 2013/14 Europa League being replaced by Norways Tromso, who they had beaten to qualify for the group stage.
Chile (World Cup, 1994)
Chile were barred from 1994 World Cup qualification following the Maracanazo scandal of 1989, during a qualifying match for the 1990 edition of the tournament.
With his side trailing away to Brazil at Rios iconic Maracana and needing a win to qualify, goalkeeper Roberto Rojas went down pretending to have been injured by a flare thrown from the stands and Chile left the pitch in protest.
In reality, Rojas had cut himself with a razorblade hed hidden inside his glove. It didnt work: the game was forfeited to Brazil and he was banned from football for life (only to be pardoned in 2001).
Fenerbahce (UEFA competitions, 2013-2015)
Implicated in the same Turkish match-fixing scandal as Istanbul rivals Besiktas, Fenerbahce received a two-year European suspension.
While appealing, Fener continued their Champions League qualification campaign and, after losing a play-off to Arsenal, were due to take part in the Europa League group stage but their ban was upheld by the CAS.
Germany & Japan (World Cup, 1950)
Germany had competed at the 1934 and 1938 World Cups, finishing third at the latter; then the Second World War happened.
As a result of the countrys role in the conflict, Germany were barred from competing at the first post-war World Cup in 1950 in Brazil as were Japan for the same reason. The Germans did, however, win the subsequent edition of the tournament in 1954, as West Germany.
Greenwich Borough (FA Cup, 2000 & 2004)
Non-League Greenwich Borough are probably most famous as being the first club of Arsenal and Crystal Palace legend Ian Wright.
They also have a special place in more recent history: the south-east London outfit, who disbanded in 2020, were the first side to be disqualified from the FA Cup twice this century: in 2000 when they managed to field multiple ineligible players in the same match and 2004.
Ismaily SC (CAF Champions League, 2018)
Egypts Ismaily SC were thrown out of the 2018/19 CAF Champions League due to crowd trouble during a home group clash with Tunisias Club Africain.
The referee brought the game, which the visitors were leading 2-1 at the time, to a premature end as Ismaily fans pelted an assistant referee and Africain players with bottles and stones.
Juventus (UEFA competitions, 2023-2024)
Having previously been relegated to Serie B as punishment for their part in the Calciopoli scandal of 2006, Juventus found themselves in hot water again in 2023.
This time, the Italian giants were in trouble with UEFA, who suspended them from 2023/24 continental competition for breaching the organisations Financial Fair Play (FFP) rules.
Mexico (international football, 1988-1990)
Mexico had qualified for nine out of 13 World Cups prior to 1990, including as hosts in 1970 and 1986 but El Tri would not be allowed to play at Italia 90.
All Mexican teams were banned from international competition by FIFA for two years as a result of the Cachirules scandal, after the countrys U20 side knowingly fielded four overage players at the 1988 CONCACAF Under-20 Championship at which they finished runners-up.
Nigeria (international football, 2014)
FIFA take a hard line on government interference in member federations, and they suspended Nigeria from all international football amid such allegations in July 2014.
The ban lasted all of nine days, though, with one of the traditional powerhouses of African football reprieved following the reinstatement of the Nigerian Football Federation which had been dissolved by the government after being accused of hampering the Super Eagles 2014 World Cup campaign.
FK Pobeda (UEFA competitions, 2009-2017)
North Macedonias FK Pobeda were hit with a whopping eight-year ban from UEFA competitions in 2009 for manipulating the outcome of a match after irregular betting patterns were observed in relation to a Champions League qualifier against Armenias FC Pyunik five years earlier.
Not only that, but club president Aleksandar Zabrcanec and player Nikolce Zdraveski were banned from all football-related activity for life.
Real Madrid (Copa del Rey, 2015)
Real Madrid are among the most successful clubs in the history of Spains top domestic cup competition, the Copa del Rey, but they were disqualified during the 2015/16 season.
Los Blancos beat Cadiz 3-1 in the first leg of their last-32 tie, with Denis Cheryshev opening the scoring but the Russian shouldnt have been playing in the first place, having been suspended while on loan at Villarreal.
Madrid claimed that neither they nor Cheryshev had been told about the suspension but that didnt cut any ice with the Spanish FA, who also fined them the rather random-seeming amount of 6,0001 euros.
Russia (FIFA & UEFA competitions, 2022-)
Russias 2022 invasion of Ukraine prompted all manner of sanctions, among them a ban of the national football team and Russian clubs from FIFA and UEFA competitions.
Less than four years earlier, Russia had hosted the World Cup, but they were barred from competing in at least the next two editions of the tournament.
South Africa (international football, 1961-1992)
South Africa were banned by FIFA from 1961 to 1992 amid the apartheid system of racial segregation which saw the country heavily sanctioned.
Bafana Bafana had previously been chucked out of the inaugural Africa Cup of Nations in 1957 for the same reason, not debuting in that competition until 1996 when they won it as hosts.
Yugoslavia (international football, 1992)
Yugoslavias disqualification from international competition due to the break-up of the country and resulting wars in the region set the stage for one of footballs great underdog stories.
Denmark took Yugoslavias place at Euro 92 in Sweden, having initially failed to qualify and they only went and won the whole tournament.
