By Andrew Warshaw
December 30 - The escalating dispute between the rebel Swiss club FC Sion and FIFA reached another pivotal milestone today when the Swiss Football Association (SFV) sensationally docked the club 36 points for fielding ineligible players, thereby seemingly avoiding a ban from international competition.
The SFV were threatened with expulsion from all competitions by FIFA if they failed to punish Sion, who were kicked out of the Europa League by UEFA earlier this season for fielding players they had signed during a transfer ban.
FIFA warned there would be a blanket ban on Swiss football at both club and national level if no action was taken against Sion by January 13.
Sion have now been docked three points for each of the 12 Swiss league and cup matches in which any of the six ineligible players appeared.
They had been third in the Swiss first division with 31 points prior to the sanction.
The SFV said in a statement on their official website: "The central board of the SFV has withdrawn 36 points from Super League club FC Sion.
"The Board has therefore met the requirements of FIFA from December 17, 2011."
FIFA had demanded that "all matches in which the relevant players participated shall be declared forfeit or three points shall be deducted respectively".
The announcement - subject to ratification from FIFA - means FC Basle will remain in the Champions League and ends any hope of a reprieve for Manchester United, who were knocked out by the Swiss side in the group stage.
Sion were originally put under a transfer embargo over the unlawful signing of the Egyptian goalkeeper Essam El Hadary.
They then proceeded to sign six more players in the summer and fielded five of them during the Europa League play-off tie against Celtic earlier this year.
UEFA's decision to expel them was upheld by the Court of Arbitration for Sport but the affair is likely to throw up even more twists given Sion's apparent reluctance to give in.
The club seem likely to launch their umpeenth legal appeal, this time against the 36-point deduction which, if implemented, would surely result in relegation.
Sion had announced yesterday that they had begun legal action against members of FIFA's Executive Committee over the governing body's threat to suspend Switzerland from world football.
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