Friday, May 06, 2005
The FA: D'oh!
This is amusing:
The page, that was dated 10 March, 2004, is likely to cause great frustration at the FA who had made every effort to be as fair as possible after both Uefa and the Premier League handed them such a difficult decision. The website explanation which is headed "The Road to Europe: we clear up for you how the European places are awarded" refers to Arsenal and Chelsea's meeting in the semi-final last year.
The page reads: "Should Arsenal or Chelsea win the Champions' League they will automatically qualify for next season's competition but England will not get an extra Champions' League place even if they finish outside the top four in the Premiership. In that scenario the fourth placed team in the Premiership will play in next season's Uefa Cup."
Under pressure to make a decision before the end of the season, the FA finally ruled yesterday that the team finishing fourth in the Premiership would be given the chance to play in the Champions' League next season. However within hours,The Independent discovered a page on the FA's official website, thefa.com, that ruled that the winners of the European Cup would take the qualifying place even if they finished outside the top four.
The page, that was dated 10 March, 2004, is likely to cause great frustration at the FA who had made every effort to be as fair as possible after both Uefa and the Premier League handed them such a difficult decision. The website explanation which is headed "The Road to Europe: we clear up for you how the European places are awarded" refers to Arsenal and Chelsea's meeting in the semi-final last year.
The page reads: "Should Arsenal or Chelsea win the Champions' League they will automatically qualify for next season's competition but England will not get an extra Champions' League place even if they finish outside the top four in the Premiership. In that scenario the fourth placed team in the Premiership will play in next season's Uefa Cup."
