The embattled ProTour team Unibet.com was officially warned it had broken Belgian law Wednesday, just as several of its riders fell victim to the cobbles in the Ghent-Wevelgem semi-classic.

The Belgian-Swedish outfit, sponsored by an Internet betting company, had initially been caught up in a dispute between race organizers and the sport's world ruling body the UCI over the number of teams in the ProTour.

But lately the team has fallen victim to the strict interpretation of laws in France and Belgium governing betting. Internet betting is illegal in both countries and the teamwas forbidden from racing the Paris-Nice last month.

The team will also miss out on Sunday's Paris-Roubaix, the semi-classic Fleche Wallonne and Liege-Bastogne-Liege, which take place later this month.

All four races are run by ASO - which also runs the Tour de France. Organizers said the exclusions were due to the laws governing betting sponsorship and advertising, but some observers have noted that the team is likely also a victim of the ongoing ProTour dispute between race organizers and the UCI.

On Wednesday representatives from the Belgian gaming commission heaped further trouble on the team, when they issued with a written warning because to the squad, because riders were competing in their Unibet cycling jerseys.

The commission, which had also warned the team after Sunday's Tour of Flanders, said the team had broken Belgian gaming laws.

Unibet appealed the Paris-Nice decision, but that was rejected in a French court. Unibet's Jimmy Casper appeared worst off from among the numerous riders whocrashed in Ghent-Wevelgem, the Frenchman sustaining face, hand and shoulderinjuries when he came down hard on the cobbles.