Porto have been cleared to play in this season's Champions League after UEFA closed its investigation into match-fixing accusations dating back five years.

The Portuguese side have been the subject of scrutiny from European football's governing body after the club was convicted of attempting to bribe referees in the domestic Super Liga during the 2003/04 season.

However, UEFA today revealed it had closed the investigation as a rule in the organisation's statutes preventing teams from contesting the Champions League on the grounds of suspected match-fixing was not implemented until 2007.

UEFA's disciplinary body was therefore not authorised to rule on the admission or exclusion of Porto from this season's Champions League.

A UEFA statement read: "Based on the UEFA disciplinary inspector's report and with reference to the time-specific criteria stipulated ... the Control and Disciplinary Body noted that it was therefore not authorised to rule on the admission or exclusion of Porto, and has closed its investigation and struck it off the list of cases."

UEFA initially banned Porto from last season's Champions League as a result of their conviction, but that decision was overturned on appeal by the organisation's Control and Disciplinary Body.

A subsequent appeal by Benfica and Guimaraes - two clubs who stood to benefit from Porto's exclusion from the Champions League - was dismissed by the Court of Arbitration for Sport, with the case then returned to UEFA for further consideration.