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Tag: UEFA

  • UEFA to consider scrapping extra time for Champions League knockout rounds

    UEFA to consider scrapping extra time for Champions League knockout rounds

    UEFA is considering ending extra time from Champions League knockout rounds.

    This is in a bid to reduce the number of minutes played by top clubs.

    The Guardian reports that ties could now go straight to penalties.

    However, a change midway through this TV rights cycle, which runs until 2027, is unlikely.

    Extra time has long been a point of contention among European football’s stakeholders, amid arguments that players’ welfare need to be taken into consideration.

    This season, UEFA has introduced the expanded group stage for the Champions League, with each team playing a minimum of eight games.

    Later in the summer, while 12 European clubs will participate in an expanded FIFA Club World Cup in the US this summer.

    Last season just three Champions League fixtures from the last 16 onwards went into extra time, while none at all required an additional period in 2022-23.

    Four ties in the 2023-24 Europa League went the distance, down from six the season before.

  • UEFA Super Cup: Real Madrid unveils killer squad against Atalanta

    UEFA Super Cup: Real Madrid unveils killer squad against Atalanta

    Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti has named a formidable squad featuring stars like Kylian Mbappe, Vinicius Junior, Jude Bellingham, and Rodrygo to face Atalanta in the UEFA Super Cup final.

     

    The Los Blancos will clash with the Serie A side at the National Stadium in Warsaw. Real Madrid approach this match after a victory against Chelsea in their final pre-season friendly. Ancelotti’s squad secured the UEFA Champions League title last season, while Gian Piero Gasperini’s team clinched the UEFA Europa League.

     

    Here is Real Madrid’s squad for the match against Atalanta:

     

    **Goalkeepers:** Courtois, Lunin, Fran

     

    **Defenders:** Carvajal, Militão, Alaba, Lucas V., Vallejo, Fran García, Rüdiger, F. Mendy, Jacobo

     

    **Midfielders:** Bellingham, Camavinga, Valverde, Modrić, Tchouameni, Arda Güler, Ceballos

     

    **Forwards:** Vini Jr, Mbappé, Rodrygo, Endrick, Brahim

  • UCL: UEFA releases Champions League play-offs draws

    UCL: UEFA releases Champions League play-offs draws

    The final stage before the group phases of the 2024/25 UEFA Champions League has been set with the play-off round draw conducted on Monday, August 5, at the House of European Football in Nyon, Switzerland.

     

    The draw, held at 12:00 CET, decided the matchups for the play-off rounds scheduled for August 20/21 and 27/28, where teams will compete for a spot in the prestigious tournament’s main event.

     

    This was displayed on the Website if the European Football Body titled “UEFA Champions League play-off round draw.”

     

    Here are the complete matchups:

     

    – Young Boys Bern (SUI) vs. Galatasaray (TUR)

    – Dinamo Zagreb (CRO) vs. Qarabag (AZE) or Ludogorets (BUL)

    – Midtjylland (DEN) or Ferencvaros (HUN) vs. Slovan Bratislava (SVK) or APOEL Nicosia (CYP)

    – Jagiellonia Bialystok (POL) or Bodo/Glimt (NOR) vs. Crvena Zvezda (SRB)

    – Malmo (SWE) or PAOK (GRE) vs. Sparta Prague (CZE) or Steaua Bucharest (ROU)

    – Lille (FRA) or Fenerbahce (TUR) vs. Slavia Prague (CZE) or Union Saint-Gilloise (BEL)

    – Dynamo Kyiv (UKR) or Rangers (SCO) vs. RB Salzburg (AUT) or Twente (NED)

     

    The draw adheres to specific procedures to ensure fairness, with teams playing home and away matches in a knockout format. An equal number of seeded and unseeded clubs are paired based on club coefficient rankings, and certain teams are restricted from being drawn against each other.

     

    In the Champions Path, 10 teams were split into five seeded and five unseeded categories, while in the League Path, four teams were divided into two seeded and two unseeded groups.

  • UEFA: Morata, Rodri face ban over chants about Gibraltar

    UEFA: Morata, Rodri face ban over chants about Gibraltar

    Spain’s Alvaro Morata and Rodri are facing potential two-game bans after being charged by UEFA for their chants about Gibraltar.

    The players were seen singing “Gibraltar is Spanish” during their post-Euro 2024 celebrations, prompting a complaint from the Gibraltar FA due to the “extremely provocative and insulting nature” of the chants.

    An ethics and disciplinary inspector was appointed to investigate the incident, and disciplinary proceedings have been initiated. UEFA stated that a decision “is expected in due course.”

    Recall that the La Roja of Spain won the Euro 2024 trophy after defeating the three lion of England 2-1 in Munich few days ago.

     

  • Euro 2024: UEFA to split golden boot among six players if…….

    Euro 2024: UEFA to split golden boot among six players if…….

    In the case where no single player stands out, UEFA have confirmed they will split the Euro 2024 Golden Boot between six players, after Sunday’s final between England and Spain.

    It would be recalled that Cristiano Ronaldo won the prize at Euro 2020, despite being level on five goals with Czech Republic’s Patrik Schick.

    England captain Harry Kane and Spain midfielder, Dani Olmo, are two of six players tied on three goals so far.

    The others are Cody Gakpo (Netherlands), Georges Mikautadze (Georgia), Jamal Musiala (Germany) and Ivan Schranz (Slovakia).

    Jude Bellingham and Fabián Ruiz, who will both play in the final, also have two goals apiece.

    With nothing separating the six players on three goals, UEFA have now stated that the top scorer prize will be shared unless a player can hit the four-goal mark.

  • Manchester City on top as UEFA releases club rankings

    Manchester City on top as UEFA releases club rankings

    Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) on Friday published the latest club rankings.

    According to the rankings,  Manchester City retains number spot despite their failure to win back-to-back Champions League titles.

    Champions League winners, Real Madrid, are in second place.

    Bayern Munich are ranked third, despite losing out on the Bundesliga title to Bayer Leverkusen.

    Rounding out the top five are Liverpool followed by Roma.

    The next Premier League side to feature in the coefficient are Chelsea in ninth, followed by Manchester United in 14th, West Ham in 16th and Arsenal in 19th.

    The UEFA club coefficients are calculated based on a team’s performances in European competitions from the previous five seasons.

    The rankings also affect how clubs are seeded in UEFA draws for upcoming European competitions.

    UEFA club rankings for 2024/25 season (Top 20)

    1. Manchester City

    2. Real Madrid

    3. Bayern Munich

    4. Liverpool

    5. Roma

    6. PSG

    7. Villarreal

    8. Borussia Dortmund

    9. Chelsea

    10. Inter Milan

    11. Bayer Leverkusen

    12. FC Porto

    13. RB Leipzig

    14. Manchester United

    15. Benfica

    16. West Ham

    17. Atletico Madrid

    18. Barcelona

    19. Arsenal

    20. Atalanta

  • Euro 2024: Bellingham cleared to play against Switzerland, fined £25,000

    Euro 2024: Bellingham cleared to play against Switzerland, fined £25,000

    Jude Bellingham is free to play in England’s Euro 2024 quarter-final against Switzerland on Saturday after receiving a one-match suspended ban and a fine for a gesture he made in the last-16 win over Slovakia.

    The 21-year-old’s ban is suspended for a year, and he has been fined £25,400 (30,000 Euros).

    The midfielder made a crotch-grabbing gesture towards the Slovakian bench after scoring a late equalizer in the 2-1 victory, which was investigated by UEFA. Bellingham, who has made the gesture while playing for his club side Real Madrid, denied that it was aimed at England’s opponents.

    Responding to the incident on social media, Bellingham said it was “an inside-joke gesture towards some close friends who were at the game,” adding he had “nothing but respect for how Slovakia played.”

    While Bellingham is available for Saturday’s match, Turkey defender Merih Demiral has been handed a two-match ban for a gesture he made during his side’s last-16 win against Austria.

    Demiral, 26, scored both of Turkey’s goals in the 2-1 win and celebrated his second goal with a ‘wolf salute.’ The gesture, which is banned in Austria and France, is associated with the far-right extremist group Grey Wolves, which is closely linked with Turkey’s ruling coalition party, the National Movement Party.

    Turkey faces the Netherlands in Berlin, with the game kicking off at 20:00.

  • UCL: Almighty! Real Madrid win 15th title, beat Borussia Dortmund 2-0 at Wembley

    UCL: Almighty! Real Madrid win 15th title, beat Borussia Dortmund 2-0 at Wembley

    Real Madrid again showed its dominance in football by winning the 15th UEFA Champions League trophy after defeating Borussia Dortmund 2-0 on Saturday at Wembley stadium.

    Both teams finished first half goalless with Dortmund asking all the questions.

    All effort by the German side to score proved abortive as Real Madrid’s defense and Belgian Goalie, Thibaut Curtois ensured the Spanish side didn’t concede.

    Upon resumption of second half, Real Madrid became very  ruthless.

    Dani Carvajal headed home Los Blancos first of the night in the 75th minute.

    Mistake at the back from Dortmund in the 78th saw Jude Bellingham play the ball out left to Vinicius Junior and he slightly hits the ball into the floor but he won’t care as the Los Blancos scored the second of the night.

    The result meant that the Spanish champions have won the UEFA Champions League for the 15th time having last month been crowned LaLiga champions for a 33rd time.

    They have also won the UCL title the last 9 times they featured at the final.

    Dortmund, who beat Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) home and away in the semifinal, have only lifted the trophy once, in 1997, and finished fifth in the German Bundesliga in the just concluded season 2023/24.

  • UCL: Why Italy will present five teams in next season’s Champions League

    UCL: Why Italy will present five teams in next season’s Champions League

    The Italian league popularly known as Serie A will have five representatives in next season’s Champions League after securing one of the two extra places for performance across the three European competitions this season.

    According to UEFA, two leagues will get extra spot using European performance index.

    This comes as part of the revamp to expand the Champions League to a 36-team competition.

    Serie A’s place in the top two was secured, after three of its clubs made the semi-finals, while the Premier League lost four of its five remaining clubs at the quarter-final stage.
    Although, no Italian team made it to the quarter-finals of the Champions League, but with AS Roma and Atalanta reaching the semis of the Europa League, and Fiorentina into the last four of the Europa Conference League, the league has the highest coefficient score from all leagues and cannot finish outside the top two.

    Germany is set to finish in second place of the Performance Spots, as Bayern Munich and Bayer Leverkusen both knocked out English clubs and Borussia Dortmund went through in the Champions League.

    Fifth place in Italy will now qualify for the Champions League, a position currently held by Roma with Atalanta in sixth.

    If either of those clubs win the Europa League and finish outside the top four then Serie A will have six teams in the Champions League. The same applies to Borussia Dortmund, who sit fifth in the Bundesliga.
  • UCL: UEFA fines Barcelona despite Champions League exit

    UCL: UEFA fines Barcelona despite Champions League exit

    La Liga clubside, Barcelona have been fined €32000 for the behaviour of their fans during the Champions League game against Paris Saint-Germain, specifically in the first leg in Paris, despite exiting the competition.

    UEFA said Barcelona must pay €2000 for lighting flares, €5000 for damages caused and contact PSG in 30 days to pay for the repair of seats, and €25000 for their fans’ racist behaviour.

    Barcelona have been fined many times by UEFA for offenses ranging from racist chants and fans violence among many others.

    Recently, racist chants were directed at Real Madrid player Vinicius Junior during their game with Napoli.

    An additional punishment has been imposed on Barcelona, they will not be allowed to sell tickets to their fans for away games in Europe, although this is a suspended sentence for the next year.

    If there is any other infraction in the future, this will come into effect.

    UEFA has warned Barcelona about the behaviour of their fans in the future.