I have written to UEFA’s Chief Executive, Lars-Christer Olsson, to protest against the decision to allow A.C.Milan to play in this season’s European Champions League.

Milan, along with Juventus, Lazio and Fiorentina were found guilty by the Italian Football Federation (IFF) of fixing or attempting to fix the outcome of games during the past two seasons. All were banned from competing in Europe but on appeal the IFF allowed Milan entry to compete in the Champions League, despite finding their actions severe enough to warrant a Serie A points deduction.

Milan will start the 2006/2007 Serie A season with minus eight points but with UEFA refusing to ban them from Europe because of an "insufficient legal basis in the regulations", they will effectively escape any punishment. (And, with Fiorentina and Lazio deducted 19 and 11 points respectively and Juventus relegated, Milan’s path to the next season's Champions League as well, has in fact been made easier).

The Italian Football Federation have also rightly stripped Juventus of their past two Serie A titles and this is something I have urged UEFA to take great heed of. UEFA should ensure that at European level too, if a club is found guilty of match fixing, then they should lose any honours they won during the corrupt period.

This is not the first occasion Italian clubs have been involved in match fixing (indeed, A.C. Milan were relegated in 1980 for their part in a bribery scandal) and it instantly brought back memories of some deeply suspicious results English teams have suffered. The one which sticks in my mind most is Leeds’ defeat to A.C. Milan in the 1973 Cup Winners’ Cup final, where the referee, Christos Michas, performed so dubiously he was suspended for life!

UEFA can show they take any form of corruption in the game seriously by stripping clubs of trophies won thanks to match fixing. Such action would dramatically demonstrate a commitment to fair play and help restore faith in UEFA as a strong but fair governing body. And it is never too late to correct an injustice: if Milan did indeed bribe the referee in that match, then the winners medals should belatedly be given to Peter Lorimer and his Leeds team-mates.

I also think that the lenient treatment of the Italian clubs is in striking contrast with the five-year long ban UEFA imposed on all English clubs following the Heysel disaster in 1985. There was no talk then of an “insufficient legal basis in the regulations” impeding vigorous UEFA action! Furthermore, the ban was imposed because of the actions of hooligans that took place despite the efforts of the clubs involved, not because of them as is the case now where the clubs themselves have been found guilty. And the ban on English clubs included those who had no history of hooliganism.

It’s certainly an issue that has brought up a lot of questions and I will let you know if UEFA provide me with any answers.

You can read the letter I sent to UEFA by clicking here.