EUROPA League
MAN UNITED’S SOLSKJAER FACES OLD TEAMMATE IN EUROPA LEAGUE
The Europa League will set up a reunion for Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer as he takes on an old friend in the quarterfinals.
When Solskjaer’s team faces Copenhagen in Cologne on Monday, the opposing coach will be his old Norway teammate Stale Solbakken.
The two played at the 1998 World Cup when Norway reached the last 16 and beat Brazil along the way. The Norwegian team was bursting with talent then but hasn’t qualified for a World Cup since.
“I used to play with Stale Solbakken and he’s a good friend of mine — we’ve been in touch before today. We wished each other good luck and said hope to see you in Germany. They did their job, we did our job, so on to the next one,” Solskjaer said Wednesday, according to UEFA.
“Stale’s teams are always well organised and difficult to play against. Very talented young players with experience. He’s done fantastic in building team after team and it’s going to be a difficult one.”
United will be the overwhelming favorite, but Copenhagen and Solbakken have sprung surprises before. During his first spell as Copenhagen coach in 2006, Solbakken led the team to a 1-0 victory over United in the Champions League group stage.
Solskjaer was on the field for United that day alongside Wayne Rooney in attack, with a 21-year-old Cristiano Ronaldo on the flank.
WOLVES HUNTING TROPHY
Solbakken has an unhappy history with another team in the quarterfinals. His six months as coach of Wolverhampton in 2012-13 were a far cry from its European successes this season.
Back then Solbakken’s team flirted with relegation from the second-tier championship and he was dismissed after just six months in charge. That paved the way for Solbakken to join Copenhagen seven months later and he’s stayed ever since.
Wolves take on five-time Europa League winner Sevilla on Tuesday in their biggest European game since losing the 1972 UEFA Cup final to Tottenham.
It’s been a long road for Wolves, who started the Europa League in the second qualifying round in July 2019 against Northern Irish club Crusaders.
“This goal means everything. It’s everything we were going through, for the whole season. Since the beginning we were training, we were working hard,” striker Raul Jimenez said Thursday after scoring the winning penalty against Olympiakos.
“We started the Europa League in the qualification rounds and have had a big, big season, but we have to keep going.”
NOW OR NEVERKUSEN
For Bayer Leverkusen, the Europa League tournament on home soil offers a golden chance to shed its nickname of “Neverkusen.”
Five times the Bundesliga runner-up and never the champion, and the losing finalist to Real Madrid in the 2002 Champions League final, Leverkusen has a reputation for falling just short of success. It has history in this competition though, beating Espanyol on penalties in 1988 in the final of what was then called the UEFA Cup.
Winning the trophy would put Leverkusen back in the Champions League for 2020-21 after it missed out by two points in June.
It’s now or never for Kai Havertz too. The Leverkusen forward has been linked with a move to Chelsea, so each game in the Europa League could be his last for the club he joined at the age of 11. He hit the bar and put another shot just wide as Leverkusen defeated Rangers in the round of 16.
The draw hasn’t made that easy, pitting Leverkusen against Inter Milan in the quarterfinal Tuesday. Inter is aiming to cap its recent resurgence with its first trophy in nine years. No Italian club has won this competition since Parma won the UEFA Cup in 1999.
-AP
Israeli club Maccabi Tel Aviv will not accept any away fan tickets for their Europa League match at Aston Villa next month, even if local authorities reverse the decision to ban their supporters, they said on Monday.
The ban followed safety concerns raised by British Police, who cited potential protests outside Villa Park, following demonstrations at Israel’s recent World Cup qualifiers in Oslo and Udine.
“From hard lessons learned we have taken the decision to decline any allocation offered on behalf of away fans and our decision should be understood in that context,” Maccabi said in a statement.
“We hope that circumstances will change and look forward to being able to play in Birmingham in a sporting environment in the near future.”
Aston Villa announced the decision last week, saying they were following instructions from the Safety Advisory Group (SAG), who are responsible for issuing safety certificates for games at Villa Park.
West Midlands Police described the match as high risk, past incidents, including violent confrontations and hate crime offences involving Ajax and Maccabi Tel Aviv supporters ahead of a November 2024 game in Amsterdam.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar described the announcement as “shameful”.
Villa are third in the Europa League standings while Maccabi Tel Aviv are 30th after two rounds.
-Reuters
Join the Sports Village Square channel on WhatsApp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Vaz7mEIGk1FxU8YIXb0H
Crystal Palace’s appeal against UEFA’s decision to drop them from the Europa League to the third-tier Conference League was dismissed by the Court of Arbitration for Sport on Monday.
UEFA demoted Palace while allowing Olympique Lyonnais to play in the Europa League as, at the time of assessment on March 1, the Eagle Football Group were majority owners of Lyon while their chairman, John Textor, owned a controlling stake in Palace.
Nottingham Forest, who finished seventh in the Premier League last season, will replace Palace in the Europa League.
“After considering the evidence, the panel found that John Textor, founder of Eagle Football Holdings, had shares in CPFC and OL and was a board member with decisive influence over both clubs at the time of UEFA’s assessment date,” the CAS said in a statement.
“The panel also dismissed the argument by CPFC that they received unfair treatment in comparison to Nottingham Forest and OL.”
Palace did not respond to a request for comment. Club chairman Steve Parish told reporters on Sunday that if Palace lost the appeal, they would “have to look if there’s any steps after that.”
The club, who qualified for the Europa League as FA Cup winners, appealed against UEFA’s decision last month.
The appeal came days before New York Jets co-owner Robert Wood “Woody” Johnson completed the purchase of Eagle Football Holdings’ stake in Palace.
Textor has also resigned from Lyon’s board of directors with Michele Kang appointed chairwoman and president.
As both Lyon and Palace had qualified for the Europa League, the French club were allowed to keep their place because they had finished higher in their respective league. Lyon finished sixth in Ligue 1 while Palace were 12th in the Premier League.
“Olympique Lyonnais welcomes today’s decision by the Court of Arbitration for Sport confirming its participation in the Europa League,” Lyon said in a statement.
Palace, who won the Community Shield on Sunday , beating Liverpool in a penalty shootout, are set to play in the Conference League’s qualifying playoff round later this month.
-Reuters
Join the Sports Village Square channel on WhatsApp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Vaz7mEIGk1FxU8YIXb0H
UEFA has decided to postpone its assessment of the multi-club ownership case involving Olympique Lyonnais and Crystal Palace until the French club’s relegation has been confirmed, European football’s governing body said on Monday.
The multi-club ownership regulations do not allow clubs under the same ownership compete in the same European competition, and American businessman John Textor holds a stake in both Palace and Lyon.
Palace qualified for the Europa League by winning the FA Cup last season while Lyon reached the competition by finishing sixth in Ligue 1 but have since been relegated to Ligue 2 by French football’s financial watchdog (DNCG).
Lyon are appealing the decision, which came following an audit of the club’s finances, and UEFA’s Club Financial Control Body will now await the outcome of the appeal before making its decision.
UEFA and Lyon reached a settlement agreement over the club’s breach of the financial sustainability requirements, and as part of the settlement, Lyon agreed to their exclusion from European competition should the DNCG confirm their relegation.
League of Ireland club Drogheda United lost an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport earlier this month over their exclusion from the Conference League, after falling foul of the multi-club ownership rules.
-Reuters
Join the Sports Village Square channel on WhatsApp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Vaz7mEIGk1FxU8YIXb0H
- FIFA RANKING1 week ago
Nigeria Jumps Four Places in New FIFA Rankings; Stirs Optimism in Local Football Circles
- Athletics3 days ago
Nigeria to Host First-Ever Africa Running Conference in Lagos
- Nigerian Football6 days ago
Jay-Jay Okocha Call Turns NPFL Boss to Instant Celebrity in Madrid
- CAF Champions League6 days ago
Remo Stars Host Mamelodi Sundowns in Crucial CAF Champions League Showdown
- Nigerian Football3 days ago
Tiger Street Football Tournament Heads for Grand Finale in Awka After Electrifying Weekend
- CAF Champions League7 days ago
Two Decades After Their Defeat, Mamelodi Sundowns Return to Abeokuta
- CAF Champions League6 days ago
Black Bulls Edge Rivers United 1–0 in CAF Champions League Clash
- World Cup1 week ago
Four Matches, Five Months, One Dream: Nigeria’s Grueling Route to the 2026 World Cup