Edwin calls on UEFA to give Celtic Euro chance
AJAX supremo Edwin van der Sar has called on UEFA to improve Celtic’s Champions League qualification hopes by taking into account the Parkhead club’s standing in the game – rather than Scotland’s co-efficient.
The Parkhead club have to negotiate four qualifying rounds just to make the group stages.
And van der Sar – chief executive of this season’s Champions League shock
FROM BACK PAGE troops Ajax – believes they are being punished for the repeated failure of Scotland’s other clubs to make an impact in Europe.
The former Dutch international keeper revealed he has held talks with Parkhead chief executive Peter Lawwell as they try to find a way to ensure the voices of big clubs outside the top five leagues in England, Spain, Germany, Italy and France are heard by the game’s governing body.
Ajax came through three qualifying rounds in the Champions League this season and ended up getting AEK Athens in the group, after the Greeks knocked out the Hoops, and came second behind Bayern Munich.
But van der Sar agreed it has become incredibly tough for teams from outside Europe’s top five leagues to even get into the Champions League group stage.
Van der Sar said: “That is the difficulty for the smaller countries and mid-sized countries.
“Celtic and Ajax are great names in history.
“They both have great followings all over the world, not just in Holland and Scotland.
“They are historic clubs, they have both won the European Cup but that is why it is difficult not to be involved. We see the Champions League running away a bit and it is not good for the game.”
Lawwell and van der Sar have a shared vision from their roles on the European Club Association, an independent body representing 232 clubs from 54 countries.
Senior club executives from across the continent have met several times in February to try to shape UEFA policy about the Champions League and Europa League.
Their focal point especially has been entry to the group stages.
Van der Sar added: “I have been talking to Peter Lawwell for some time.
“The ECA is talking to UEFA, trying to make sure there is more participation and more possibilities for clubs from medium and smaller-sized countries, so we can develop and play football at this level.
“That’s what a lot of fans from our countries have been looking for and they are substantial followings.
“Many of us are looking at a different way of how teams are set up and how the competition is set up.
“Maybe to look at the co-efficient of the club and see at what the club has done in Europe rather than only looking at the national co-efficient. And not just recent years.”