The strange case of Chelsea

Chelsea have the option of playing in the Champions League or the Europa League.

Chelsea are facing one of the rarest situations in European football. According to the Daily Mail , they will be able to choose whether to play in the Champions League or Europa League next season. This sounds unbelievable, but it is completely legal under new UEFA regulations.

If "The Blues" win the Europa Conference League and also finish in the top 5 of the Premier League - thereby qualifying for the Champions League according to domestic quotas - they will be allowed by UEFA to choose one of the two arenas to participate in next season.

Normally, winning the Conference League means entry into the Europa League group stage and £5.9m in prize money. But if the winners qualify for the Champions League, they have the right to opt out of the Europa League.

UEFA introduced a rule to protect smaller teams who could win the Conference League but were unable to qualify for the Champions League through their domestic leagues. Instead of risking a place in Europe’s most prestigious tournament, they were allowed to take the safer option of going straight into the Europa League group stage.

For big clubs like Chelsea, the prospect of dropping out of the Champions League is of course unthinkable, as just reaching the group stage can earn them up to £70m in prize money. But the "option" clause still exists, making this a strange situation.

In addition, if Chelsea win the Conference League and also qualify for the Europa League due to their Premier League position, they will not be eligible for two places. In that case, the extra place will be awarded to the team with the best domestic record that has not yet qualified for European competition or the domestic cup winner who has not yet been allocated a place.

Chelsea are currently 5th in the Premier League and have qualified for the Champions League. However, they still have tough matches against MU and Nottingham Forest.

The race for Champions League tickets is extremely fierce when Newcastle, Aston Villa, Man City and Nottingham Forest all still have a chance to compete.

Source: https://znews.vn/truong-hop-ky-la-cua-chelsea-post1552931.html