FC Shakhtar Donetsk has said that the principle of fair play is a fundamental part of football, according to a statement posted on the club's official Web site.

"Shakhtar Donetsk strongly believes that fair play is a fundamental part of football. Our players fully understand that they are role models for Shakhtar's young fans and the entire football community as a whole, and such actions on their part are not acceptable," the club said in a statement after UEFA's decision to suspend striker Luiz Adriano for one match.

The club said that before the beginning of the UEFA hearings regarding the Adriano case, Shakhtar made it very clear publicly that it would accept UEFA's decision in regard to the player.

"We apologized and expressed deep disappointment over the incident, which occurred during a Champions League match with FC Nordsjælland on November 20," reads the statement.

As reported, on November 27, the UEFA Control and Disciplinary Body decided to suspend Adriano for one match for violation of the principles of conduct during the UEFA Champions League game against FC Nordsjælland, when the striker violated the principle of fair play and scored a goal.

The suspension applies to next week's UEFA Champions League group stage game between FC Shakhtar Donetsk and Juventus in Ukraine. The Shakhtar player has also been required to perform one full day of community football service.

On November 20, Shakhtar secured a place in the knockout stage of the Champions League after beating Nordsjælland 5-2 in Copenhagen.