ISTANBUL -- Turkish champions Galatasaray have been banned from UEFA competitions for one season for breaking financial fair play rules.
UEFA said Galatasaray will be excluded from the Champions League or Europa League if they qualify either this season or next. The club must also bring their wage bill under control.
"The Turkish club has also been ordered to limit the overall aggregate cost of the employee benefits expenses of all of its players" for the financial years 2016 and 2017, UEFA said.
Galatasaray official Iskender Baydar told The Associated Press that club directors were meeting and "examining the text of the decision" before issuing a statement later on Wednesday.
UEFA's club finance panel can sanction clubs who overspend or miss financial targets. In 2014, the cases of Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain dominated the first round of sanctions in the FFP project championed by then-UEFA President Michel Platini. Both clubs had €20 million in UEFA prize money withheld.
In a lesser case, UEFA also fined Galatasaray €200,000 and required the club to break even on football-related trading over a three-year period.
Galatasaray are now fifth in the Turkish league and sit outside the qualifying places for next season's Champions League and Europa League. A fourth-place finish would ensure qualification.
This season, Galatasaray were third in a Champions League group behind Atletico Madrid and Benfica, but were eliminated in the Europa League by Lazio last week.
