European football authority UEFA begins on Tuesday hearing the defense of Turkish first-division contenders Sivasspor in the Swiss city of Nyon as part of a match-fixing investigation.
Sivasspor's chairman Mecnun Otyakmaz and the club's legal team are attending the hearing, which is expected to last two hours.
If the UEFA finds Sivasspor's plea insufficient, the club's European challenge would be suspended. It might further face disciplinary action.
On May 21, the UEFA sent two Turkish clubs, Sivasspor and Eskisehirspor, to its disciplinary committee, with regard to the 2010-11 Turkish Spor Toto Super League corruption and match-fixing scandal. Eskisehirspor's trial was held on Monday.
The investigation came after the clubs' league positions allowed them to compete in UEFA Europa League next season.
Any involvement in match-fixing automatically disqualifies a club from European competitions, according to the UEFA's regulations.
Turkey's match fixing scandal broke out after the 2010-11 season of the first division, Spor Toto Super League, after a controversial title victory by Istanbul's Fenerbahce.
Turkish officials conducted technical surveillance and physical observations for 8 months before they decided to launch legal action in July 2011.
In August 2013, the Court of Arbitration for Sport approved the UEFA's decision to ban Fenerbahce for two seasons and another Istanbul team, Besiktas, for one season from European tournaments due to match fixing.
