Atiba Hutchinson’s Besiktas may have strong enough to qualify for the Europa League with their play on the field, but they were no match for the Court for Arbitration of Sport.
Hutchinson went the full 90 minutes in the Black Eagles' 2-0 home win over Norway's Tromsø last Thursday that looked to have sent them through to the group stage 3-2 on aggregate. However, the court later upheld Besiktas' one-year ban from European soccer due to a match-fixing scandal that took place before Hutchinson's arrival at the club, meaning they will miss out on the Europa League this time around.
Besiktas quickly put that disappointment behind them as they maintained their perfect start to the season with a 2-0 win over Gaziantepspor on Sunday, with Hutchinson again playing the whole game. It was their third straight win to start the season.
Elsewhere in Turkey, goalkeeper Milan Borjan had a day to forget on Saturday as his Sivasspor side dropped a 5-2 result to Fenerbahçe. Sivasspor have one win and two losses through their first three games of the season.
It was a happier week for forward Daniel Haber and Apollon Limassol of Cyprus as they did manage to book a spot in the Europa League. Haber came on as a late substitute last Thursday as Limassol lost 1-0 in Nice but hung on for a 2-1 aggregate win over their French opponents.
Haber followed that up with a start in Limassol’s first 1. Division game of the season. He lasted 58 minutes as his side beat Ermis 1-0 on Monday.
Over in the Bundesliga, defender Marcel de Jong made his return after a month out with a broken toe as he came on in the second half for Augsburg in their 1-0 win over Nürnberg.
Elsewhere in Germany, it’s now four games without a point for Simeon Jackson and Eintracht Braunschweig as they’ve endured a tough start in their first season back in the top flight. Jackson remains goalless after going all 90 minutes on Saturday in Braunschweig’s 4-0 loss to Hamburger SV.
Down in the 2.Bundesliga, Olivier Occean started and lasted 87 minutes for Kaiserslautern on Monday as they tied Energie Cottbus 2-2. Through six games, Kaiserslautern have 10 points and are tied for third place.
Fellow forward Rob Friend played the second 45 minutes for 1860 Munich on Friday in their 2-0 loss to Sandhausen, also in the second division. The Lions are right behind Kaiserslautern with nine points through their opening six games.
In England, defender David Edgar came off the bench in the 79th minute for Burnley as they beat Derby County, 3-0. Edgar & Co. have collected 10 points through their five games, which is good for third place in the Championship.
In Sweden, it was a return to winning ways for Kenny Stamatopoulos and AIK as they snapped a two-game losing skid with a 3-0 win over Gefle. Stamatopoulos picked up the clean sheet as AIK remain in third place in the top-flight Allsvenskan, five points back of first.
One flight down, Nik Ledgerwood scored his second goal of the season on Monday as Hammarby beat Brage 2-0 to move up to fifth place with eight games to play.
In Greece, Julian de Guzman played all 90 minutes for Skoda Xanthi in their scoreless draw with Ergotelis on Saturday. Xanthi have four points through three games.
In the Portuguese second division, midfielder Pedro Pacheco played all 90 minutes as Santa Clara picked up their first win of the season, beating Farense 2-0. Santa Clara have four points through four games and are in 16th place in the 22-team league.
