The Portuguese giants stormed to the SuperLiga title in the recently-completed season, but their achievement was overshadowed by a six-point deduction they received for attempting to bribe referees during the 2003/04 campaign.

And a statement on the club's official website confirmed they would not play in Europe's elite club competition next season as a result of events four years ago.

"FC Porto was today notified by the UEFA Disciplinary Committee of the decision to not admit FC Porto to the 2008/09 edition of the UEFA Champions League," read the statement.

"FC Porto will appeal against this decision to the UEFA Appeals Body."

UEFA later confirmed the news and revealed Porto's exclusion was due to them not meeting certain admission criteria, most notably the one which states an eligible club must "not be or have been involved in any activity aimed at arranging or influencing the outcome of a match at national or international level".

AC Milan were initially banned from the 2006/07 Champions League following the Italian match-fixing scandal but were successful in their appeal and went on to participate in - and eventually win - the European title.

Porto have triumphed in Europe's premier club competition twice, in 2004 and 1987, and reached the last 16 last season before being knocked out by Schalke on penalties.