Source: Team_Talk
Fair play boost for Scotland
A UEFA spokesman has confirmed that Scotland are in the top three of the new table, which will be published in full later on Friday afternoon.
It is understood Motherwell are currently heading the race for the extra place courtesy of their position in Scotland's Fair Play table, which is compiled by the Scottish Football Association.
Hibernian and St Mirren are also in the running for the European spot.
The SFA take into account a range of criteria, including yellow and red cards, crowd behaviour, the actions of club officials and match reports by SPL delegates.
The table is not made public but the SFA are expected to keep the relevant clubs informed of their progress in the final few weeks of the season.
The club who top the table at the end of the season will take part in the first qualifying round of the new Europa League on July 2/9.
Falkirk have already qualified for the Europa League after reaching the Homecoming Scottish Cup final, while Hearts, Dundee United and Aberdeen are battling for the two spots available through the Scotish Premier League.
Celtic and Rangers will take part in the Champions League, with the SPL champions going straight into the group stages.
Norway and Denmark are the other countries to gain an extra European place via UEFA's system of ranking countries for fair play.
Manchester City qualified for the UEFA Cup via the same route this season.
