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Fans adamant there is a mistake in Europa League draw after bizarre new rule

Home> Football> Football News

Updated 07:57 8 Aug 2023 GMT+1Published 07:55 8 Aug 2023 GMT+1

Fans adamant there is a mistake in Europa League draw after bizarre new rule

The Europa League draw had fans thinking that there was an error but it was in fact a bizarre new rule change.

Josh Lawless

Josh Lawless

The latest Europa League draw had fans thinking there was a mistake but it turned out to be a new rule implemented by UEFA.

The European governing body conducted the draw for the play-off round in Nyon on Monday, with ties for the two-legged affair to take place on 24 and 31 August.

Dutch giants and 1995 Champions League winners Ajax are the most notable side in the draw, having finished in lowly third place in last season's Eredivisie.

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Scottish side Aberdeen are also in the mix and will meet Zalgiris Vilnius of Lithuania or Swedish club BK Hacken.

But one potential tie has confused supporters as Zorya Luhansk could square off against Dnipro, also from Ukraine, if the latter beat Slavia Prague in the third qualifying round this Thursday.

Many assumed that it was an error on UEFA's part, however they have now removed country protection for this stage of the competition.

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In the Champions League and Europa Conference League, the usual rules remain. Fans erupted with reaction online.

One wrote: "Why Zorya can play against Dnipro? I need an explanation."

A second said: "If Ukrainian dnipro qualify in play off they will face the other Ukrainian team Zorya."

A third commented: "What is @UEFA doing? First match draw results for @EuropaLeague Slavia Praha (CZE) / Dnipro (UKR) vs Zorya Luhansk (UKR) So the whole draw will obviously have to be canceled but they didn't realize it yet..."

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A fourth weighed in: "#EuropaLeague Is the top fixture even allowed to stand btw? Dnipro and Zorya are both Ukrainian and could play each other. Unless I'm wrong about something."

A fifth asked: "How is it possible that Dnipro-1 will play against Zorya Luhansk?"

A sixth added: "Zorya vs dnipro tie is possible. What a hell UEFA."

Image: Getty
Image: Getty

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Should Zorya and Dnipro be paired against one another, it could well be the first time that two teams from the same country have met in the qualification stage of a UEFA tournament.

One fixture will take place in Lubin, Poland, with the other in Kosice, Slovakia.

The Europa League play-off draw in full:

Slavia Prague (Czech Republic) or Dnipro-1 (Ukraine) v Zorya Luhansk (Ukraine)

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Olympiacos (Greece) or Genk (Belgium) v Cukaricki (Serbia)

Union Saint-Gilloise (Belgium) v Lugano (Switzerland)

Astana (Kazakhstan) or Ludogorets 1945 (Bulgaria) v Ajax (Netherlands)

Zalgiris Vilnius (Lithuania) or Hacken (Sweden) v Aberdeen

LASK (Austria) v Zrinjski (Bosnia & Herzegovina) or Breidablik (Iceland)

Klaksvik (Faroe Islands) or Molde (Norway) v Sheriff Tiraspol (Moldova) or BATE Borisov (Bulgaria)

Olimpija Ljubljana (Slovenia) or Galatasaray (Turkey) v Qarabag (Azerbaijan) or HJK Helsinki (Finland)

Slovan Bratislava (Slovakia) or Maccabi Haifa (Israel) v Rakow Czestochowa (Poland) or Aris Limassol (Cyprus)

AEK Athens (Greece) or Dinamo (Croatia) v Copenhagen (Denmark) or Sparta Praha (Czech Republic)

Featured Image Credit: Getty

Topics: Europa League

Josh Lawless
Josh Lawless

Josh is a sports journalist who specialises in football and WWE. He has been published by Curzon Ashton FC, Late Tackle, Manchester City FC, The Mirror, Read Man City and Manchester Evening News. He provides coverage of professional wrestling and has covered two WrestleMania events for SPORTbible.

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@joshlawless_

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