How Arsenal and West Ham can guarantee England an extra Champions League place thanks to Uefa rule change
ARSENAL and West Ham can almost guarantee an extra Champions League place for English clubs in 2024-25 by evicting German teams from Europe.
If Gabriel and his Gunners pals KO Bayern Munich and the Hammers win their Europa League tie with Leverkusen, then England take an unbridgeable lead over Germany in the race to finish in Uefa’s top two performing nations.
And that would earn an extra spot for the Prem in the Champions League next term.
Uefa’s big change to the “coefficient” system for the revamped and extended competition gives Prem clubs a huge advantage.
Even Newcastle and Manchester United’s poor campaigns this season would have benefited England’s ranking more.
While coefficient points are gained by wins and draws — with a country’s total accumulated points divided by the number of teams it has in Europe — there are also bonus points for progressing through the competitions.
Under the new regulations, each of the 36 teams in the top tier will earn a minimum six points.
CASHING IN
JUST getting into the Champions League will mean even MORE next term.
While Uefa has reformed its cash distribution method, performances in Europe over the last five AND ten years are still taken into account.
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Manchester City will bank £53million from Uefa. Almost certain of top-three finishes, Liverpool are set to earn £51.5m and Arsenal £44.6m.
Aston Villa will not fare so well but still grab around £28m, compared to Spurs’ likely £39.4m, with both keen for England to get a fifth spot.
But Champions League riches are highlighted by Manchester United’s drop from £48m for the elite competition to just £12.85m in the Europa League.
PLAY-OFF CONTROVERSY
JUDE BELLINGHAM denied Belgium a first away win over England on Tuesday — but there was no chance of a stoppage-time goal in the game that has shocked their country.
Fans of Ghent cried “fix” after Genk and Westerlo played out a non- aggression pact in the final minutes of the 1-1 draw on March 17.
Despite having an extra man, Westerlo simply let the home team pass the ball around in their own half, with one visiting player actually doing fitness exercises in the centre circle while the game was going on.
The result saw Genk get into the end of season play-offs for European slots ahead of Ghent.
While Westerlo avoided the relegation play-offs.
Belgian FA chiefs slammed a “sham of fairness” and have now issued fines on all 21 players on the pitch and bans for the two captains and both coaches.
EURO TRIP
ENGLAND fans with a few bob to spare can still get their hands on Euro 2024 tickets.
Their three group games in Germany are sold out — except for Uefa hospitality packages.
They start from £1,070 per match, with some higher-priced deals featuring meals planned by Michelin-starred chefs.
Of 110million applications for the tournament’s 2m available tickets, 90m were binned as they came from online bots on behalf of touts.
GAME, SET, MATCH
WIMBLEDON tennis chiefs have asked SW19 punters if they should change their finals weekend match line-up.
Visitors who logged on to the event’s wi-fi last year were emailed a link to a survey about the “scheduling of matches across the finals weekend”.
The mixed doubles final was traditionally the last match but has been brought forward to be played on the second Thursday in recent years.