Porto lose Champions League place

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Portuguese champions Porto have been excluded from next season's Champions League over alleged bribery of referees in the 2003/04 season.

The allegations relate to Porto's 2-0 win against Estrela da Amadora and their 0-0 draw with Beira Mar.

Porto won their domestic title and the Champions League in 2003/04 under their former coach Jose Mourinho, who has not been mentioned in any allegations.

The club has already confirmed it will appeal against Uefa's decision.

Porto won their domestic title in 2004 by eight points from runners-up Benfica.

Last month, they were found guilty by the Portuguese league of fixing the two league matches in question.

As a result Porto were docked six points, but they decided not to appeal against that decision on the grounds the club had a substantial lead in the league.

The punishment did not affect final standings as Porto still won last season's title for the third time in a row, 14 points ahead of Sporting Lisbon.

However, the club's president Jorge Pinto da Costa has appealed against a two-year suspension and he will go to trial in a civil lawsuit by Porto prosecutors.

Boavista were relegated to the second division for their part in the match-fixing.

The affair, which came to light in April 2004, also resulted in five referees being suspended for periods between two-and-a-half and six years.

The referees were found guilty of accepting the offer of prostitutes after matches, while in once case an official received 2,500 Euros prior to a match.