The Scottish media is running its latest gleeful story about why Celtic may yet be deprived of an automatic place in the Champions League Groups. After weeks of hoping that Villarreal went all the way in this year’s competition they are now reduced to something worse.
Which is rooting for the Ukrainian clubs to get a free pass and automatic qualification instead. So much for standing by the Scottish team right? The same papers which are urging us to back Ibrox tonight have spent weeks trying to conjure up scenarios for next season, none of which were even remotely likely, and neither is this one.
UEFA does not run a charity and I’m afraid even the exceptional circumstances of war will not make them one and nor should it. Football is a meritocracy and even in the present form that still stands true and clubs do not get automatic byes into the premier competition because their nations are experiencing some turbulence. It is preposterous.
Ukrainian clubs have made the request. They are fully entitled to do so. There is virtually no prospect of it being granted. If their clubs can play Champions League Group games they can play qualifying matches and that will be the line.
Besides, UEFA may not have to grant the request anyway. At this moment, Russian clubs are banned and they had an automatic place assigned to them already. If they drop out then you know who is behind Scotland in the rankings? Yes, it is Ukraine, so the easy and obvious solution here is to now formally kick the Russian teams out and that solves everyone’s problems.
I would not like to think that Celtic – or indeed the SFA – would simply roll over for any other scenario. I mean, what’s next? Scotland waiving their World Cup qualifier and giving them a free pass there as well? This is professional sports for God’s sake, and UEFA has already probably over-reached already and if the Russian clubs want to contest their ban then I think they’d have a good chance of winning in front of CAS.
No clubs will be getting a free bye into the Champions League Groups; it would create a minefield of problems for UEFA and whichever club suffered would only be the start of them. We all want to see Ukraine emerge from this crisis but some things are sacrosanct and if we’re really going to grant exceptional dispensations to every nation suffering in some form of conflict the World Cup is going to have a lot of clubs from Africa and the Middle East in it.
Honestly, this is desperate stuff from the media. Absolutely desperate.
We done grt article ,Scottish media are pathetic no limit to the levels they will stoop to.Little wonder sales of their toilet paper continue to drop
Double standards doesn’t even cover it the Turkish Delight the media are spewing up.
It’s funny how when sevco had been top of the league for so long it was all automatic qualification into the Champions League,now its Celtic at the top and all these obstacles and possibilities are put in their way.
You couldn’t make it up.
Let them prattle on, who cares. It only gives them false hopes based on spite and means then that they only end up experiencing one let down after another.
Incidentally, doesn’t the Ukranian scenario not also detract from the huns chances of qualifying for the CL? It is not just us that could potentially suffer.
Haters, bigots, liars, and hypocrites one and all. Celtic doing it on the park, regaining our Champions of Scotland title will be very very satisfying. To attain their glorious one league in a row is an unbelievable achievement. Scum on the run, so much fun
No wonder the media in Scotland are losing readers by the thousands year after year. The standard of journalism especially in the Sports dept is so bad it’s embarrassing.
This is fake news written by lazy and biased so called journalists employed by the mainstream media in Scotland.
The editors approve their articles, so should they not be outed, named and shamed by society and governing bodies for the ever increasing division and harm they continue to cause to our society. If only we had a decent objective leader in this country. If you’re not part of the solution, then you’re part of the problem Nicola and imo she and her party are now part of it. If you allow marches, where vile sectarian abuse and violent destruction is monitored with a glancing police passer-by approach then your in it too.
The daily’s sales have been reduced so much over the years that they really only have the scum hun readers and writers left and this, by their own design. If they’re not careful they’ll find themselves in the position they fail to discuss in their papers – Liquidation
Marches, vile sectarian and racist abuse has been allowed for generations ffs!!
Why is it now Nicolas problem?
You won’t see a butcher’s apron draped around her shoulders.