Kind Europa League draw holders Atletico
MONTE CARLO, Monaco ● Europa League winners Atletico Madrid will face Hapoel Tel Aviv, Viktoria Plzen and Portuguese newcomers Academica Coimbra in the group stage of this season’s competition following Friday’s draw. “We have never played any of these teams. We could have had tougher rivals but we have these, and we will [...]
UEFA punishes PAOK, Rapid Vienna over fan violence
NYON, Switzerland ● UEFA has fined Europa League clubs PAOK Thessaloniki and Rapid Vienna following violence at a match in Greece last week. UEFA threatened both clubs with a two-year competition ban Tuesday, and ordered PAOK to pay a €150,000 ($188,000) fine and play the next three European matches behind closed doors. Rapid was fined [...]
Liverpool escapes, Newcastle draws with Greeks
LONDON, England ● Liverpool scraped a 1-0 win over Hearts while a Newcastle side shorn of several familiar faces survived sweltering heat to hold Greek side Atromitos to a 1-1 draw in their Europa League play-off round first-legs on Thursday. Liverpool needed an own goal from Andy Webster with 12 minutes remaining at Tynecastle to [...]
Players Macedonia banned for drugs
NYON, Switzerland ● UEFA imposed one-year bans on two players from Macedonian club Rabotnicki on Monday after they tested positive for doping. Milovan Petrovic and Dino Najdoski failed drugs tests after a Europa League playoff-round match against Lazio on Aug. 18, 2011, UEFA said. The substance involved was not identified but Macedonian media has reported [...]
Celtic drawn against Helsingborg in CL playoff
NYON, Switzerland ● Scottish champion Celtic will play Swedish league winner Helsingborg for a place in the group stage of the Champions League. The playoff draw Friday also pitted Spanish side Malaga against Panathanaikos of Greece. The Andalucia-based side is in financial turmoil despite reaching club football’s most illustrious competition for the first time in [...]
Suarez stars for Liverpool in Europa League
LIVERPOOL, England ● Luis Suarez was the key player as Liverpool moved smoothly into the final qualifying round of the Europa League on Thursday with a 3-0 win over Gomel of Belarus. The Uruguyan created first-half goals for Fabio Borini and skipper Steven Gerrard as the east European visitors proved no match for the Merseyside [...]
Arsenal Kiev forfeits Europa League win
NYON, Switzerland ● Ukrainian club Arsenal Kiev has forfeited a 3-0 win in the Europa League for fielding Cameroon forward Eric Matoukou when he was ineligible to play. UEFA says it awarded Kiev’s opponent ND Mura a 3-0 victory by default. Mura will defend the lead in Slovenia on Thursday in their third qualifying round, [...]
First-leg Europa League wins for Reds, Inter, Bilbao
LONDON, England ● Beaten finalists last season, Athletic Bilbao began their 2012/13 Europa League campaign in victorious fashion as former continental champions Inter Milan and Liverpool also won. Bilbao started with five of the XI who featured from the off in May’s all-Liga showpiece against Atletico Madrid in Bucharest, but it was a [...]
Liverpool to face Renova or Gomel in Europa League
LIVERPOOL, England ● European heavyweights Liverpool will face either Macedonia minnows Renova or Gomel from Belarus in the Europa League third qualifying round next month. Renova, who finished fourth in their domestic league, and Gomel who came in third, meet later this month to determine which side will take on the new Liverpool manager [...]
