2019–20 UEFA Europa League

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2019–20 UEFA Europa League
The RheinEnergieStadion in Cologne hosted the final
Tournament details
DatesQualifying:
27 June – 29 August 2019
Competition proper:
19 September 2019 – 21 August 2020
TeamsCompetition proper: 48+8
Total: 158+55 (from 55 associations)
Final positions
ChampionsSpain Sevilla (6th title)
Runners-upItaly Inter Milan
Tournament statistics
Matches played197
Goals scored548 (2.78 per match)
Attendance4,069,102 (20,655 per match)
Top scorer(s)Bruno Fernandes (Sporting CP/
Manchester United)
8 goals
Best player(s)Romelu Lukaku (Inter Milan)[1]

The 2019–20 UEFA Europa League was the 49th season of Europe's secondary club football tournament organised by UEFA, and the 11th season since it was renamed from the UEFA Cup to the UEFA Europa League.

final, played at the RheinEnergieStadion in Cologne, Germany, 3–2 for a record sixth title in the competition.[2] As winners, Sevilla earned the right to play against Bayern Munich, the winners of the 2019–20 UEFA Champions League, in the 2020 UEFA Super Cup. Since they had already qualified for the 2020–21 UEFA Champions League group stage through their league performance, the berth originally reserved for the Europa League title holders was given to the third-placed team of the 2019–20 Ligue 1 (Rennes
), the 5th-ranked association according to next season's access list.

Due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the tournament was suspended in mid-March 2020 and resumed in August. The quarter-finals onwards were played as a single match knockout ties at neutral venues in Germany (RheinEnergieStadion, MSV-Arena, Merkur Spiel-Arena, Arena AufSchalke) behind closed doors from 10 to 21 August.[3] The video assistant referee (VAR) system was used in the competition from the knockout stage onwards.[4]

As the title holders of the Europa League, Chelsea qualified for the 2019–20 UEFA Champions League, although they had already qualified before the final through their league performance. They were unable to defend their title as they advanced to the Champions League knockout stage, and were eliminated by the ultimate winners Bayern Munich in the round of 16.

Association team allocation

A total of 213 teams from all 55 UEFA member associations participated in the 2019–20 UEFA Europa League. The association ranking based on the UEFA country coefficients was used to determine the number of participating teams for each association:[5]

  • Associations 1–51 (except Liechtenstein) each had three teams qualify.
  • Associations 52–54 each had two teams qualify.
  • Liechtenstein and Kosovo (association 55) each had one team qualify (Liechtenstein organised only a domestic cup and no domestic league; Kosovo as per decision by the UEFA Executive Committee).[6]
  • Moreover, 55 teams eliminated from the 2019–20 UEFA Champions League were transferred to the Europa League (default number was 57, but 2 fewer teams competed in the 2019–20 UEFA Champions League).

Association ranking

For the 2019–20 UEFA Europa League, the associations were allocated places according to their 2018 UEFA country coefficients, which took into account their performance in European competitions from 2013–14 to 2017–18.[7]

Apart from the allocation based on the country coefficients, associations could have additional teams participating in the Champions League, as noted below:

  • (UCL) – Additional teams transferred from the UEFA Champions League
Association ranking for 2019–20 UEFA Europa League
Rank Association Coeff. Teams Notes
1  Spain 106.998 3
2  England 79.605
3  Italy 76.249 +1 (UCL)
4  Germany 71.427 +1 (UCL)
5  France 56.415
6  Russia 53.382 +1 (UCL)
7  Portugal 47.248 +2 (UCL)
8  Ukraine 41.133 +2 (UCL)
9  Belgium 38.500 +1 (UCL)
10  Turkey 35.800 +1 (UCL)
11  Austria 32.850 +2 (UCL)
12  Switzerland 30.200 +2 (UCL)
13  Czech Republic 30.175 +1 (UCL)
14  Netherlands 29.749 +2 (UCL)
15  Greece 28.600 +2 (UCL)
16  Croatia 26.000
17  Denmark 25.950 +1 (UCL)
18  Israel 21.750 +1 (UCL)
19  Cyprus 21.550 +1 (UCL)
Rank Association Coeff. Teams Notes
20  Romania 20.450 3 +1 (UCL)
21  Poland 20.125 +1 (UCL)
22  Sweden 19.975 +1 (UCL)
23  Azerbaijan 19.125 +1 (UCL)
24  Bulgaria 19.125 +1 (UCL)
25  Serbia 18.750
26  Scotland 18.625 +1 (UCL)
27  Belarus 18.625 +1 (UCL)
28  Kazakhstan 18.125 +1 (UCL)
29  Norway 17.425 +1 (UCL)
30  Slovenia 14.500 +1 (UCL)
31  Liechtenstein 13.000 1
32  Slovakia 12.125 3 +1 (UCL)
33  Moldova 10.000 +1 (UCL)
34  Albania 8.500 +1 (UCL)
35  Iceland 8.250 +1 (UCL)
36  Hungary 8.125 +1 (UCL)
37  North Macedonia 7.500 +1 (UCL)
Rank Association Coeff. Teams Notes
38  Finland 6.900 3 +1 (UCL)
39  Republic of Ireland 6.700 +1 (UCL)
40  Bosnia and Herzegovina 6.625 +1 (UCL)
41  Latvia 5.625 +1 (UCL)
42  Estonia 5.500 +1 (UCL)
43  Lithuania 5.375 +1 (UCL)
44  Montenegro 5.000 +1 (UCL)
45  Georgia 5.000 +1 (UCL)
46  Armenia 4.875 +1 (UCL)
47  Malta 4.500 +1 (UCL)
48  Luxembourg 4.375 +1 (UCL)
49  Northern Ireland 4.250 +1 (UCL)
50  Wales 3.875 +1 (UCL)
51  Faroe Islands 3.750 +1 (UCL)
52  Gibraltar 3.000 2 +1 (UCL)
53  Andorra 1.331 +1 (UCL)
54  San Marino 0.499 +1 (UCL)
55  Kosovo 0.000 1 +1 (UCL)

Distribution

The following is the access list for this season.[8]

Access list for 2019–20 UEFA Europa League
Teams entering in this round Teams advancing from previous round Teams transferred from Champions League
Preliminary round
(14 teams)
  • 4 domestic cup winners from associations 52–55
  • 6 domestic league runners-up from associations 49–54
  • 4 domestic league third-placed teams from associations 48–51
First qualifying round
(94 teams)
  • 26 domestic cup winners from associations 26–51
  • 30 domestic league runners-up from associations 18–48 (except Liechtenstein)
  • 31 domestic league third-placed teams from associations 16–47 (except Liechtenstein)
  • 7 winners from preliminary round
Second qualifying round Champions Path
(18 teams)
  • 15 losers from Champions League first qualifying round
  • 3 losers from Champions League preliminary round
Main Path
(74 teams)
  • 7 domestic cup winners from associations 19–25
  • 2 domestic league runners-up from associations 16–17
  • 3 domestic league third-placed teams from associations 13–15
  • 9 domestic league fourth-placed teams from associations 7–15
  • 2 domestic league fifth-placed teams from associations 5–6 (League Cup winners for France)
  • 4 domestic league sixth-placed teams from associations 1–4 (League Cup winners for England)
  • 47 winners from first qualifying round
Third qualifying round Champions Path
(20 teams)
  • 9 winners from second qualifying round (Champions Path)
  • 10 losers from Champions League second qualifying round (Champions Path)
  • 1 losers from Champions League first qualifying round (Champions Path)
Main Path
(52 teams)
  • 6 domestic cup winners from associations 13–18
  • 6 domestic league third-placed teams from associations 7–12
  • 1 domestic league fourth-placed team from association 6
  • 37 winners from second qualifying round (Main Path)
  • 2 losers from Champions League second qualifying round (League Path)
Play-off round Champions Path
(16 teams)
  • 10 winners from third qualifying round (Champions Path)
  • 6 losers from Champions League third qualifying round (Champions Path)
Main Path
(26 teams)
  • 26 winners from third qualifying round (Main Path)
Group stage
(48 teams)
  • 12 domestic cup winners from associations 1–12
  • 1 domestic league fourth-placed team from association 5
  • 4 domestic league fifth-placed teams from associations 1–4
  • 8 winners from play-off round (Champions Path)
  • 13 winners from play-off round (Main Path)
  • 4 losers from Champions League play-off round (Champions Path)
  • 2 losers from Champions League play-off round (League Path)
  • 4 losers from Champions League third qualifying round (League Path)
Knockout phase
(32 teams)
  • 12 group winners from group stage
  • 12 group runners-up from group stage
  • 8 third-placed teams from Champions League group stage

Changes were made to the default access list, if any of the teams that qualified for the Europa League via their domestic competitions also qualified for the Champions League as the Champions League or Europa League title holders, or if there were fewer teams transferred from the Champions League due to changes in the Champions League access list. In any case where a spot in the Europa League was vacated, cup winners of the highest-ranked associations in earlier rounds were promoted accordingly.

  • In the default access list, originally 17 losers from the Champions League first qualifying round were transferred to the Europa League second qualifying round (Champions Path). However, since the Champions League title holders (Liverpool) qualified for the Champions League group stage via their domestic league, only 16 losers from the Champions League first qualifying round were transferred to the Europa League second qualifying round (Champions Path). As a result, only 19 teams entered the Champions Path second qualifying round (one of the losers from the Champions League first qualifying round would be drawn to receive a bye to the third qualifying round).
  • In the default access list, originally three losers from the Champions League second qualifying round (League Path) were transferred to the Europa League third qualifying round (Main Path). However, since the Europa League title holders (Chelsea) qualified for the Champions League group stage via their domestic league, only two losers from the Champions League second qualifying round (League Path) were transferred to the Europa League third qualifying round (Main Path). As a result, the following changes to the access list were made:
    • The cup winners of association 18 (Israel) entered the third qualifying round instead of the second qualifying round.
    • The cup winners of association 25 (Serbia) entered the second qualifying round instead of the first qualifying round.
    • The cup winners of associations 50 (Wales) and 51 (Faroe Islands) entered the first qualifying round instead of the preliminary round.

Redistribution rules

A Europa League place was vacated when a team qualified for both the Champions League and the Europa League, or qualified for the Europa League by more than one method. When a place was vacated, it was redistributed within the national association by the following rules:

  • When the domestic cup winners (considered as the "highest-placed" qualifier within the national association with the latest starting round) also qualified for the Champions League, their Europa League place was vacated. As a result, the highest-placed team in the league which had not yet qualified for European competitions qualified for the Europa League, with the Europa League qualifiers which finished above them in the league moving up one "place".
  • When the domestic cup winners also qualified for the Europa League through league position, their place through the league position was vacated. As a result, the highest-placed team in the league which had not yet qualified for European competitions qualified for the Europa League, with the Europa League qualifiers which finished above them in the league moving up one "place" if possible.
  • For associations where a Europa League place was reserved for either the League Cup or end-of-season European competition play-offs winners, they always qualified for the Europa League as the "lowest-placed" qualifier. If the League Cup winners had already qualified for European competitions through other methods, this reserved Europa League place was taken by the highest-placed team in the league which had not yet qualified for European competitions.

Teams

The labels in the parentheses show how each team qualified for the place of its starting round:[8]

  • CW: Cup winners
  • 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, etc.: League position
  • LC: League Cup winners
  • RW: Regular season winners
  • PW: End-of-season Europa League play-offs winners
  • UCL: Transferred from the Champions League
    • GS: Third-placed teams from the group stage
    • PO: Losers from the play-off round
    • Q3: Losers from the third qualifying round
    • Q2: Losers from the second qualifying round
    • Q1: Losers from the first qualifying round
    • PR: Losers from the preliminary round (F: final; SF: semi-finals)
Qualified teams for 2019–20 UEFA Europa League (by entry round)
Round of 32
Belgium Club Brugge (UCL GS) Ukraine Shakhtar Donetsk (UCL GS) Austria Red Bull Salzburg (UCL GS) Portugal Benfica (UCL GS)
Greece Olympiacos (UCL GS) Germany Bayer Leverkusen (UCL GS) Italy Inter Milan (UCL GS) Netherlands Ajax (UCL GS)
Group stage
Spain Getafe (5th) Germany VfL Wolfsburg (6th) Turkey Beşiktaş (3rd) Russia Krasnodar (UCL PO)
Spain Sevilla (6th) France Rennes (CW) Austria Wolfsberger AC (3rd) Austria LASK (UCL PO)
England Arsenal (5th) France Saint-Étienne (4th) Switzerland Lugano (3rd) Portugal Porto (UCL Q3)
England Manchester United (6th) Russia CSKA Moscow (4th) Switzerland Young Boys (UCL PO) Ukraine Dynamo Kyiv (UCL Q3)
Lazio (CW
)
Portugal Sporting CP (CW) Cyprus APOEL (UCL PO) Turkey İstanbul Başakşehir (UCL Q3)
Ukraine Oleksandriya (3rd) Romania CFR Cluj (UCL PO) Switzerland Basel (UCL Q3)
Germany Borussia Mönchengladbach (5th) Belgium Standard Liège (3rd)[Note BEL] Norway Rosenborg (UCL PO)
Play-off round
Champions Path Main Path
Greece PAOK (UCL Q3) Scotland Celtic (UCL Q3)
Denmark Copenhagen (UCL Q3) Slovenia Maribor (UCL Q3)
Azerbaijan Qarabağ (UCL Q3) Hungary Ferencváros (UCL Q3)
Third qualifying round
Champions Path Main Path
Israel Maccabi Tel Aviv (UCL Q2) Estonia Nõmme Kalju (UCL Q2) Russia Spartak Moscow (5th) Netherlands Feyenoord (3rd)
Sweden AIK (UCL Q2) Montenegro Sutjeska Nikšić (UCL Q2) Portugal Braga (4th)
3rd
)
Belarus BATE Borisov (UCL Q2)
Saburtalo Tbilisi (UCL Q2
)
Ukraine Mariupol (4th) Croatia Rijeka (CW)
Finland HJK (UCL Q2) Malta Valletta (UCL Q2) Belgium Antwerp (PW)[Note BEL] Denmark Midtjylland (CW)
Republic of Ireland Dundalk (UCL Q2) Wales The New Saints (UCL Q2) Turkey Trabzonspor (4th) Israel Bnei Yehuda (CW)
Bosnia and Herzegovina Sarajevo (UCL Q1)[Note UCL Q1] Austria Austria Wien (4th) Czech Republic Viktoria Plzeň (UCL Q2)
Switzerland Thun (4th) Netherlands PSV Eindhoven (UCL Q2)
Czech Republic Sparta Prague (3rd)
Second qualifying round
Champions Path Main Path
Poland Piast Gliwice (UCL Q1) Lithuania Sūduva (UCL Q1) Spain Espanyol (7th) Netherlands AZ (4th)
Bulgaria Ludogorets Razgrad (UCL Q1) Armenia Ararat-Armenia (UCL Q1) England Wolverhampton Wanderers (7th) Netherlands FC Utrecht (PW)
Kazakhstan Astana (UCL Q1) Luxembourg F91 Dudelange (UCL Q1)
Torino (7th)[Note ITA]
4th
)
Slovakia Slovan Bratislava (UCL Q1) Northern Ireland Linfield (UCL Q1) Germany Eintracht Frankfurt (7th)
5th
)
Moldova Sheriff Tiraspol (UCL Q1) Faroe Islands HB Tórshavn (UCL Q1) France Strasbourg (LC) Croatia Osijek (3rd)
Albania Partizani (UCL Q1)
Feronikeli (UCL Q1
)
Russia Arsenal Tula (6th) Denmark Esbjerg (3rd)
Valur (UCL Q1
)
Andorra FC Santa Coloma (UCL PR F) Portugal Vitória de Guimarães (5th) Cyprus AEL Limassol (CW)
North Macedonia Shkëndija (UCL Q1) Gibraltar Lincoln Red Imps (UCL PR SF) Ukraine Zorya Luhansk (5th) Romania Viitorul Constanța (CW)
Latvia Riga (UCL Q1)
Tre Penne (UCL PR SF
)
Belgium Gent (5th)[Note BEL] Poland Lechia Gdańsk (CW)
Turkey Yeni Malatyaspor (5th) Sweden BK Häcken (CW)
Austria Sturm Graz (PW)
Gabala (CW
)
Switzerland Luzern (5th) Bulgaria Lokomotiv Plovdiv (CW)
Czech Republic Jablonec (4th) Serbia Partizan (CW)
Czech Republic Mladá Boleslav (PW)
First qualifying round
Croatia Hajduk Split (4th) Belarus Dinamo Minsk (3rd) Iceland Breiðablik (2nd) Estonia Flora (3rd)
Denmark Brøndby (PW) Belarus Vitebsk (4th) Iceland KR (4th) Lithuania Žalgiris (CW)
Israel Maccabi Haifa (2nd) Kazakhstan Kairat (CW) Hungary Fehérvár (CW) Lithuania Riteriai (3rd)
Israel Hapoel Be'er Sheva (3rd) Kazakhstan Tobol (3rd) Hungary Debrecen (3rd) Lithuania Kauno Žalgiris (5th)[Note LTU]
Cyprus AEK Larnaca (2nd) Kazakhstan Ordabasy (4th) Hungary Honvéd (4th) Montenegro Budućnost Podgorica (CW)
Cyprus Apollon Limassol (3rd) Norway Molde (2nd) North Macedonia Akademija Pandev (CW) Montenegro Zeta (3rd)
Romania FCSB (2nd) Norway Brann (3rd)
Shkupi (4th
)
Montenegro Titograd (4th)
Romania Universitatea Craiova (4th) Norway Haugesund (4th) North Macedonia Makedonija (5th)[Note MKD] Georgia (country) Torpedo Kutaisi (CW)
Poland Legia Warsaw (2nd) Slovenia Olimpija Ljubljana (CW) Finland Inter Turku (CW) Georgia (country) Dinamo Tbilisi (2nd)
Cracovia (4th
)
Slovenia Domžale (3rd) Finland RoPS (2nd) Georgia (country) Chikhura Sachkhere (4th)
Sweden IFK Norrköping (2nd) Slovenia Mura (4th) Finland KuPS (3rd) Armenia Alashkert (CW)
Sweden Malmö FF (3rd) Liechtenstein Vaduz (CW) Republic of Ireland Cork City (2nd) Armenia Pyunik (2nd)
Azerbaijan Neftçi Baku (2nd) Slovakia Spartak Trnava (CW) Republic of Ireland Shamrock Rovers (3rd) Armenia Banants (3rd)
Azerbaijan Sabail (3rd) Slovakia DAC Dunajská Streda (2nd) Republic of Ireland St Patrick's Athletic (5th)[Note IRL] Malta Balzan (CW)
Bulgaria CSKA Sofia (2nd) Slovakia Ružomberok (3rd) Bosnia and Herzegovina Zrinjski Mostar (2nd) Malta Hibernians (2nd)
Bulgaria Levski Sofia (PW) Moldova Milsami Orhei (2nd) Bosnia and Herzegovina Široki Brijeg (3rd) Malta Gżira United (3rd)
Serbia Radnički Niš (2nd)
Petrocub Hîncești (3rd
)
Bosnia and Herzegovina Radnik Bijeljina (5th)[Note BIH] Luxembourg Fola Esch (2nd)
Serbia Čukarički (4th) Moldova Speranța Nisporeni (4th) Latvia Ventspils (2nd) Luxembourg Jeunesse Esch (3rd)
Scotland Rangers (2nd) Albania Kukësi (CW) Latvia RFS (3rd) Northern Ireland Crusaders (CW)
Scotland Kilmarnock (3rd)
3rd
)
Latvia Liepāja (4th) Wales Connah's Quay Nomads (2nd)
Scotland Aberdeen (4th) Estonia Narva Trans (CW) Faroe Islands B36 Tórshavn (CW)
Belarus Shakhtyor Soligorsk (CW) Iceland Stjarnan (CW) Estonia FCI Levadia (2nd)
Preliminary round
Luxembourg Progrès Niederkorn (4th) Wales Cardiff Metropolitan University (PW) Gibraltar St Joseph's (3rd)
La Fiorita (2nd
)
Northern Ireland Ballymena United (2nd) Faroe Islands NSÍ Runavík (2nd) Andorra Engordany (CW) Kosovo Prishtina (2nd)
Northern Ireland Cliftonville (PW) Faroe Islands KÍ Klaksvík (4th) Andorra Sant Julià (2nd)
Wales Barry Town United (3rd) Gibraltar Europa (CW)
Tre Fiori (CW
)

One team not playing a national top division took part in the competition; Vaduz (representing Liechtenstein) played in 2019–20 Swiss Challenge League, which is Switzerland's 2nd tier.

Notes
  1. 2018–19 Albanian Superliga, but were banned from entering UEFA competitions.[9] As a result, the berth was given to the sixth-placed team of the league, Laçi, since the fifth-placed team of the league, Flamurtari, failed to obtain a UEFA licence.[10]
  • 2017–19 Belgian football fraud scandal, and thus prohibited by the Royal Belgian Football Association to take part in the 2019–20 European competitions. Mechelen appealed the decision,[11] but the final ruling was announced on 17 July 2019 by the Belgian Arbitration Court for Sports, and Mechelen remained banned,[12] and were subsequently replaced by UEFA.[13] As a result, the third-placed team of the 2018–19 Belgian First Division A, Standard Liège, entered the group stage instead of the third qualifying round, the Europa League play-off winners of the league, Antwerp, entered the third qualifying round instead of the second qualifying round, and the second qualifying round berth was given to the fifth-placed team of the league, Gent.[14]
  • ^
    Bosnia and Herzegovina (BIH): Željezničar would have qualified for the Europa League first qualifying round as the fourth placed team of the 2018–19 Premier League of Bosnia and Herzegovina, but failed to obtain a UEFA licence.[15] As a result, the berth was given to the fifth-placed team of the league, Radnik Bijeljina.
  • Torino
    .
  • ^
    Lithuania (LTU): Stumbras would have qualified for the Europa League first qualifying round as the fourth placed team of the 2018 A Lyga, but had their UEFA licence stripped.[17] As a result, the berth was given to the fifth-placed team of the league, Kauno Žalgiris.[18]
  • Makedonija GP
    .
  • ^
    Republic of Ireland (IRL): Waterford would have qualified for the Europa League first qualifying round as the fourth-placed team of the 2018 League of Ireland Premier Division, but were ruled by UEFA to have not passed the "three-year rule" as the club were reformed in 2016.[20] As a result, the berth was given to the fifth-placed team of the league, St Patrick's Athletic.
  • ^
    Champions League (UCL Q1): Sarajevo were drawn to receive a bye to the third qualifying round, as one fewer loser from the Champions League first qualifying round were transferred to the Europa League second qualifying round (Champions Path), due to a Champions League group stage berth vacated by the Champions League title holders.