Manchester United could be reinstated in the Champions League following FIFA's warning that all Swiss clubs could be banned from European competitions.
FC Basel knocked United out of the competition earlier this month and were handed a tie against Bayern Munich in the round of 16.
However, they could be removed from the tournament if the Swiss Football Association fails to enforce a transfer embargo upon FC Sion.
Sion were put under an embargo over the signing of Egyptian goalkeeper Essam El Hadary, but proceeded to sign six players in the summer, some of whom featured in the Europa League tie with Celtic.
"The executive decided to give a final deadline of January 13, 2012 to the Swiss FA to enforce the registration ban imposed on Sion by the FIFA Dispute Resolution Chamber and confirmed by the Swiss Federal Court and to sanction the attitude of the club repeatedly trying to circumvent this decision in a legally abusive manner," read a FIFA statement.
"As a consequence, all matches in which the relevant players participated shall be declared forfeit or three points shall be deducted respectively.
"Should this deadline not be respected, the Swiss FA will be automatically suspended from January 14, 2012 onwards."
United have been drawn against Dutch club Ajax in the Europa League.
Liam Apicella
