The cash-strapped Dutch league side had faced the prospect of a ban from all professional football in the Netherlands if their licence had been withdrawn entirely, but the country's licensing committee has granted the club a reprieve by imposing a suspended sentence.
They must now co-operate with an independent investigation into the structure of the club to establish which individuals were to blame, and then comply with the findings of investigators in order to keep their operating licence for next season.
Club president Aldo van der Laan resigned last month after leaked documents from Twente suggested the team had entered into an agreement with investment company Doyen Sports that contravened KNVB rules.
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The agreement reportedly allowed the investors, who injected 5 million euros ($5.46 million) into the club in exchange for the transfer rights of seven players, to have a say in Twente’s transfer dealings, against international football rules.
The contract between the parties was also not declared in full to the Dutch licensing committee.
The KNVB says the team received a ban from European competition after they obtained a UEFA licence to compete in the Europa League last season under what are now known to be false pretences.
“The reason for this decision is that it is now known Twente wrongly received a UEFA licence and participated in the 2014/15 Europa League. They obtained this licence based on incomplete and inaccurate information,” a statement from KNVB said.
(Reporting by Nick Said in Cape Town,; Editing by Neville Dalton)
