It's confirmed, I'll believe the club, the tv networks, and every newspaper before some rando on this site saying otherwise.
TBF he has quoted the UEFA regs on the EL...
It's confirmed, I'll believe the club, the tv networks, and every newspaper before some rando on this site saying otherwise.
Here is the section from the UEFA Euorpa League regulations that deals the number of teams that each country can have in the tournament (Section 3.02):
"Associations are represented on the following basis." (England has three teams.)
"....c. three representatives: the winner of the domestic cup and the two clubs which finish the top domestic championship immediately below the club(s) which qualify for the UEFA Champions League.
In special circumstances, the winner of another official domestic competition maybe entered for the UEFA Europa League in place of the lowest ranking top domestic championship representative referred to in Paragraph 3.02(c), provided such a competition has been approved by UEFA before the start of the season in question...."
So England gets three teams in the Europa (two from the cups and one from the league). However, now it gets interesting, because there is also this (Section 3.07):
"The UEFA Europa League titleholder is admitted to the UEFA Champions League group stage. If the UEFA Europa League title holder qualifies for the UEFA Europa League through one of its domestic competitions, the number of places to which its association is entitled in the UEFA Europa League is decreased by one. The created vacancy is filled accordingly with priority for the UEFA Europa League given to domestic cup winners (in accordance with the entry stage as per the access list)."
We've had 8 teams in Europe before, that was the 17/18 season (I think)