Maccabi appeal thrown out

Walid Badir was at the heart of Maccabi's appeal

Maccabi Haifa's appeal against their expulsion from the Champions' League has been thrown out by Uefa.

The Israeli champions were originally due to play Liverpool in Wednesday's third and final qualifying round after beating FC Haka 5-0 on aggregate.

But they were disqualified from the competition last week for fielding an ineligible player against the Finns.

Former Wimbledon star Walid Badir played despite being under a suspension.

As a result, Liverpool will play Haka instead, a far easier prospect on paper.

Haifa's appeal was handled by Maurice Watkins, a Manchester United director and one of Europe's leading sports lawyers.

Watkins said the Israelis tried to persuade Uefa that kicking them out of the competition was too harsh a penalty.

We did our best to try and set aside the decision and have the case taken on its merits

  Maccabi lawyer Maurice Watkins

"They simply informed us orally that they were dismissing the appeal and upholding the disciplinary body's findings," Watkins told BBC Sport Online.

"We did our best to try and set aside the decision and have the case taken on its merits.

"A number of other penalties could have been imposed, including replaying the game.

"Although that would have meant postponing the Liverpool tie, we argued there would have been time to fit it in later.

"We also argued that handing the tie to Haka by default was not the right decision but the weight of precedent was against us."

Uefa's ruling is a huge blow to Israeli football. Maccabi was the country's only Champions League representative and their expulsion means they will not even be able to play in the Uefa Cup.

By contrast, Liverpool now go to the Olympic stadium in Helsinki and will be glad of a less testing encounter, four days before the Charity Shield against Manchester United.