Nyon, Switzerland - Portuguese champions FC Porto will be allowed compete in this season's Champions League after European football's ruling body UEFA lifted a threat to ban the club from competing over its involvement in a bribery and match-fixing scandal.

UEFA's disciplinary committee ruled Thursday that Porto can take their place in the 32-team group phase this season as the time limit for dealing with allegations that the club bribed referees and fixed Portuguese league matches in the 2003-04 season had passed.

As UEFA was "not authorised to rule on the admission or exclusion of Porto" due to the statute of limitations bar, the case has now been closed and the investigation struck off the list of cases.

Porto were implicated in what became known as the "Golden Whistle" police investigation in Portugal, which looked into claims that referees were offered bribes before two Porto matches during the club's title-winning season in 2004.

Porto were eventually docked six points and fined 150,000 euros (216,000 dollars). Last summer, UEFA temporarily banned Porto from the Champions League before they were reinstated.

Club chairman Jorge Pinto da Costa was cleared of any wrongdoing last April.(dpa)