Source: Daily_Mail
UEFA grant England extra Europa League place
ShareEngland has been granted an additional place in next season's Europa League via the UEFA Respect Fair Play ranking, UEFA have confirmed.[LNB]As expected, an extra English team will appear in the competition's first qualifying round next season, with Fulham seeming the likely beneficiaries with one game of the Barclays Premier League season remaining.[LNB]The UEFA ranking was headed by Norway, with England and third-placed Sweden also gaining additional spots.[LNB] Pure delight: Fulham could be set for a European adventure next season in the Europa League[LNB]Fulham currently head the Premier League's domestic fair play table and are the only team not to have had a player sent off in the competition this season.[LNB]Relegation-threatened Blackpool appear their only realistic challengers, their 46 yellow cards and two reds giving them 52 disciplinary points for the season - just two outside the total amassed by the Cottagers' half-century of bookings.[LNB]The Tangerines belatedly applied for a UEFA licence to play in European football, though manager Ian Holloway was not enthusiastic about the prospect when made aware of it.[LNB]'If this Europe thing does happen then all I'll be thinking about is how short our summer is going to be because the qualifying stages for the Europa League begin at the start of July,' he said last month.[LNB] One step too far: Atletico Madrid snatched the trophy away in extra time in the final[LNB]'The season doesn't end until May 22 so we will get about a month off, tops. When you consider we didn't really have much of a break last year because of the play-offs that really isn't good.'[LNB]A statement on the UEFA website said: 'Norway have won an extra UEFA Europa League place as winners of the UEFA Respect Fair Play rankings, with England and Sweden also rewarded for their teams' conduct in UEFA games.[LNB]'The standings, which cover all matches played in UEFA competition at club and national-team levels from 1 May 2010 to 30 April 2011, take into account assessments made by official UEFA delegates on criteria such as positive play, respect for the opposition, respect for the referee, behaviour of the crowd and of team officials, as well as cautions and dismissals.[LNB]'Norway came out on top in the rankings, which only contain sides that have played 34 or more UEFA games in the time period. The Football Association of Norway (NFF) therefore receives an extra place in the first qualifying round of the UEFA Europa League, which will also feature an additional club each from England and Sweden after they finished second and third in the table.'[LNB] Another crack at the cup: Fulham reached the final last season against the odds[LNB]'The three associations allocated a bonus UEFA Europa League place will be entitled to enter the team that won their domestic top-division fair play competitions. If this side have already qualified for a UEFA club competition, the second-placed team in the domestic fair play league may be entered and, should they also have already qualified, the third-placed team and so forth.[LNB]'It is even possible for a side that have been relegated to the second division to qualify for the UEFA Europa League, as a result of exemplary conduct during the domestic championship. Only clubs that have obtained a UEFA licence will be able to participate in the UEFA Europa League.'[LNB]Relegation is no barrier to a team's eligibility, meaning Blackpool would still be allowed to take up their place should they drop into the npower Championship.[LNB]Norway's Aalesund, who played in the third qualifying round of this season's Europa League, will return to the competition two rounds earlier for 2011-12, while the Swedish place goes to Hacken.[LNB]The latter qualified by the same means for the 2007-08 UEFA Cup, when they reached the first round proper before losing to Spartak Moscow.[LNB] Liverpool 0 Tottenham 2: Harry plays his ace as Spurs ruin Dalglish's dayKenny Dalglish: My daughter says it's champagne now that I've got the jobRedknapp targets Europa spot despite negative impact on top four hopes [LNB][LNB] Explore more:Places: United Kingdom, Norway, Europe
