Disqualified Legia Warsaw talks of appealing to UEFA

Polish football champions Legia Warsaw have asked European football's governing body, UEFA, to explain its decision to disqualify the team from the Champions League for fielding an ineligible player.

The club authorities Friday claimed their decision to play Bartosz Bereszynski in their Champions League match against Celtic was an administrative error and they have five days to appeal, reports Xinhua.

Legia beat Celtic 2-0 Wednesday, wrapping up the tie 6-1, which put them through to the next round, but the tie has now been awarded to Celtic as a 3-0 walkover.

Bereszynski, had been sent off in a Europa League match with Apollon Limassol last season and banned for three European matches.

Bereszynski didn't play in the two matches in the previous round against St. Patrick's Athletic or the first-leg match against Celtic, but he came on in the last 20 minutes of the second leg of the tie with Celtic.

Polish fans' reactions range from criticism of the club's incompetence to an attack on UEFA's strictness, accusing the organisation of discrimination. In a similar case four years ago, Hungarian club Debrecen were simply fined 15,000 euros.