UEFA have decided to open investigation over the UEFA Conference League second qualifying round, second leg tie between Hibernians and FC Riga that was played earlier this month at the Centenary Stadium, the Times of Malta can reveal.
Last week, the Paolites announced that they had sent a letter of official protest to UEFA following their elimination to Latvian side FC Riga.
In the letter sent to UEFA, the Maltese Premier League club asked UEFA to investigate the ‘unacceptable behaviour’ of the referee team, headed by Irish referee Robert Hennessy, that took charge of the return leg at the Centenary Stadium which saw the Latvian champions prevail 4-1 to wrap up a 4-2 aggregate win.
On Thursday, UEFA replied to Hibernians and informed them that an UEFA Ethics and Disciplinary Inspector was appointed to evaluate their complaint according to their disciplinary regulations
It added that Hibernians FC will be provided with the Ethics and Disciplinary Inspector decision in due course.
During last week’s second leg, the Irish referee Hennessy awarded a very dubious penalty to FC Riga inside the first minute of the match and also annulled a Jurgen Degabriele goal midway through the second half for an inexistent offside position which would have sealed Hibernians passage to the next round.
The Times of Malta also reported that had Hibernians eliminated FC Riga and managed to overcome Gibraltar side Lincoln Red Imps FC in the Play-off Round and reach the group stages they would have pocketed €3 million.
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