The summer-long saga to decide who will represent Portugal in the Champions League is set to end next week.
The Court of Arbitration for Sport will hear appeals Monday from Benfica and Vitoria Guimaraes, which want Portuguese champion FC Porto kicked out of Europe's most prestigious and lucrative club competition.
A panel of three lawyers hearing the case is expected to give its decision Tuesday.
Benfica and Guimaraes are challenging a decision by UEFA to reverse a ban it originally imposed last month on Porto taking part because of its involvement in a bribery scandal.
The CAS hearing is likely to focus on whether UEFA had the authority to handle the Porto case while investigations and appeals were ongoing in Portugal.
If Porto is suspended, Guimaraes _ which finished third in the league _ would be exempt from the qualifying rounds and go straight to the group phase alongside league runner-up Sporting Lisbon.
Fourth-place Benfica also stand to gain from Porto's exclusion by entering the Aug. 1 qualifying stage draw instead of the UEFA Cup.
In May, Porto was penalized six points by the Portuguese league for bribing referees in two matches during the 2003-04 season. The deduction didn't affect final placings because Porto led the league by a wide margin.
UEFA rules state that clubs must have a clean record in qualifying to play in the Champions League.
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