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UEFA conduct Champions League, Europa League playoffs draw

UEFAChampionsLeaguePlayoffsDraw2 (Sportsfile)

By DAN KARELL

Arsenal’s path to the UEFA Champions League group stage will take them through Turkey for the second consecutive year.

UEFA conducted their draw for the playoff round of both the Champions League and Europa League, with Arsenal drawing Besiktas, who feature former Chelsea forward Demba Ba, a one-time transfer target of Arsene Wenger. FC Porto, Bayer Leverkusen, Napoli, and FC Zenit have all been placed on the league side of the draw as well, with teams such as Celtic, Steaua Bucharest, and Malmo drawn in the Champions route.

Matches in the Champions League playoff rounds will take place over two legs, starting on either Aug. 19/20 and finishing on Aug. 26/27.

The ten winners of the Champions League playoff round will automatically qualify for the group stage, while the losers will move to the Europa League group stage. The Champions League group stage draw will take place on Aug. 28 in Monaco.

Shortly after the conclusion of the Champions League draw, the Europa League draw began, with Tottenham, Inter Milan, and Borussia Mönchengladbach all drawn in the proceedings.

Tottenham were drawn with Cypriot club AEL Limassol FC, Inter Milan was drawn with Icelandic side Stjarnan, and Mönchengladbach were drawn with FK Sarajevo in Bosnia and Herzegovina. 

The matches will be played over two legs, the first leg taking place on Aug. 21 and the second leg on Aug. 28.

Here’s a look at both the Champions League and Europa League draws:

UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE PLAYOFF DRAW

LEAGUE ROUTE
BeÅŸiktaÅŸ JK (TUR) v Arsenal FC (ENG) – 19/27 August
R. Standard de Li̬ge (BEL) v FC Zenit (RUS) Р20/26 August
FC København (DEN) v Bayer 04 Leverkusen (GER) – 19/27 August
LOSC Lille (FRA) v FC Porto (POR) – 20/26 August
SSC Napoli (ITA) v Athletic Club (ESP) – 19/27 August

CHAMPIONS ROUTE
NK Maribor (SVN) v Celtic FC (SCO) – 20/26 August
FC Salzburg (AUT) v Malmö FF (SWE)- 19/27 August
Aalborg BK (DEN) v APOEL FC (CYP) – 20/26 August
FC Steaua BucureÅŸti (ROU) v PFC Ludogorets Razgrad (BUL) – 19/27 August
Å K Slovan Bratislava (SVK) v FC BATE Borisov (BLR) – 20/26 August

UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE EUROPA LEAGUE PLAYOFF DRAW

FK Sarajevo (BIH) v VfL Borussia Mönchengladbach (GER)
FC Astana (KAZ) v Villarreal CF (ESP)
PEC Zwolle (NED) v AC Sparta Praha (CZE)
Asteras Tripolis FC (GRE) v Maccabi Tel-Aviv FC (ISR)
FC Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk (UKR) v HNK Hajduk Split (CRO)
QarabaÄŸ FK (AZE) v FC Twente (NED)
HJK Helsinki (FIN) v SK Rapid Wien (AUT)
FC Zimbru Chisinau (MDA) v PAOK FC (GRE)
AC Omonia (CYP) v FC Dinamo Moskva (RUS)
Olympique Lyonnais (FRA) v FC Astra (ROU)
Neftçi PFK (AZE)v FK Partizan (SRB)
IF Elfsborg (SWE) v Rio Ave FC (POR)
Kardemir Karabükspor (TUR) v AS Saint-Étienne (FRA)
Panathinaikos FC (GRE) v FC Midtjylland (DEN)
Grasshopper Club (SUI) v Club Brugge KV (BEL)
HNK Rijeka (CRO) v FC Sheriff (MDA)
Apollon Limassol FC (CYP) v FC Lokomotiv Moskva (RUS)
BSC Young Boys (SUI) v Debreceni VSC (HUN)
FC Spartak Trnava (SVK) v FC Zürich (SUI)
AEL Limassol FC (CYP) v Tottenham Hotspur FC (ENG)
FC Dinamo Minsk (BLR) v CD Nacional (POR)
FC Petrolul PloieÅŸti (ROU) v GNK Dinamo Zagreb (CRO)
Trabzonspor AÅž (TUR) v FC Rostov (RUS)
RNK Split (CRO) v Torino FC (ITA)
FC Aktobe (KAZ) v Legia Warszawa (POL)
KSC Lokeren OV (BEL) v Hull City (ENG)
Ruch Chorzów (POL) v FC Metalist Kharkiv (UKR)
PSV Eindhoven (NED) v FC Shakhtyor Soligorsk (BLR)
Stjarnan (ISL) v FC Internazionale Milano (ITA)
Feyenoord (NED) v FC Zorya Luhansk (UKR)
Real Sociedad de Fútbol (ESP) v FC Krasnodar (RUS)

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What do you think of this news? Do you like Arsenal’s draw? Which teams do you see moving to the Champions League group stage? What interesting matchups are you looking forward to?

Share your thoughts below.

Comments

  1. “The 22-year-old was suspended for the match having picked up a three match ban last season after being sent off against Apallon in the Europa League.
    He could have served two matches of his suspension in the second round against St Patrick’s but Legia failed to register the defender for those matches allowing Berg to choose from his full compliment of 25 players.”

    Reply
    • Working pretty hard to justify this garbage team “winning” off the field rather than on it. They’ll just get knocked out in the next round and spend all year pursuing another “championship” of the one team league they play in.

      Reply
      • Wait a minute, they have promotion/relegation in that league. That makes it a “legit” league- heck of a lot better than none promo/releg MLS, right?

      • Is this another false restatement of things I’ve said on this site? I said yesterday MLS should consider pro/rel some day and there’s no reason it wouldn’t work at some point in the future. Never said MLS is worse than the Scottish league (it isn’t) and I certainly never said MLS isn’t a legit league. Since I’m a season ticket holder for an MLS team, that would be a pretty strange thing for me to say.

  2. All of you whining about Legia getting kicked out….they did not get kicked out….they forfeited the match which is very very standard when you field an ineligible player….. and forfeit in football is redcarded as 3-0 win….. Celtic lost 4-1 on the away leg…but ended 4 all and advanced on away goals…

    there was nothing nefarious…

    Reply
  3. Warsaw must win an appeal seemingly a precedent has been set as debrecen did the same thing in a Europa tie and were only fined as they were 4-1 up when the player came on

    Reply
    • If there I is precedent they really should sue.

      I know something similar happened to Leverkusen once but.. consistency is kinda important. Choose one and stick to it.

      Reply
  4. Why aren’t you telling people about what the criminals at UEFA did to Legia Warsaw?

    After they destroyed the garbage Celtic team by an aggregate of 6:1, half an hour before the draw, UEFA decided that Legia had fielded an ineligible player and kicked them out of the Champions League at the expense of Celtic.

    Disgusting, absolutely disgusting! If it wasn’t Celtic, this wouldn’t have happened in a million years.

    Aah, UEFA, are you FIFA in disguise?

    But we all need a storied (albeit currently awful) Celtic in the Champions League! It’s good for business and all!

    Reply
    • I believe they fielded the ineligible player for a whole of the final 2 minutes. Clearly without him on the pitch the Celtic deficit would have been overturned.

      Reply
      • It gets better, The player had a three game ban and he didn’t play in three games after the ban. But UEFA claims he wasn’t registered for two of those games so those games don’t count which makes no sense.

      • I am still in disbelief.

        Platini is turning into a great prostitute, a worthy successor of Blatter as FIFA president!

        And as to the quality of the Scotish league, it’s like talking about a dead man: either good or nothing, I will keep my mouth shut.

        Celtic will have a hard time winning the USL, and the rest of the pack would do just about average in the local amateur leagues here in the US.

      • Thought the same thing and yeah wow. Punishment seems ridiculous and disproportionate considering it’s basically a technicality.

      • He was not registered to play in those earlier matches…thus not yet serving a suspension… the rules are very clear.

        I am no Celtic fan and it sucks because Legia trounced them but the hones falls on Legia…

      • Sorry, but UEFA is playing favorites and it’s showing a double standard here:

        2010, Debrecen (Hungary) – Litex Lovech (Bulgaria). The same situation, ineligible player played for 3 minutes, when it was already 4-1.
        UEFA’s decision? 15 000pound fine. Explanation? Played only for three minutes, when result was clear.
        Haha, Bereszynski played for 3 minutes when scoreboard showed 6-1 (agg).

        This decision would have never been rendered had it not been Celtic, but, say, Ludogorec or Maribor. Screw the minnows, the name Celtic has a glorious history.

        The only good thing that come out of this is Celtic getting humiliated by a scoreline worse than 6:1 v. Barcelona recently.

        Bayern/Real/Barca even Manchester City could put 7 to 9 goals past them if they try.

      • They gained no advantage from this guy playing four minutes. Plus, the guy actually sat out three games. Total technicality and the punishment should be a fine, not being thrown out of the Champions League after they dominated Celtic over the two legs. Bet Maribor is delighted – they’re looking pretty well set now to be playing in the group stages unless Celtic finds some other technicality that enables them to win this one off the field.

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