‘Don’t gift elite a ticket to Europe’
MOYES SLAMS UEFA PLAN FOR CHAMPIONS LEAGUE
WEST HAM V LYON 8PM, BT SPORT
DAVID MOYES has warned UEFA not to mess with the rules on European qualification – and insisted the new proposals will only spur West Ham on to upset the order by winning the Europa League.
Under the UEFA plans, the FA Cup winners could get a place in the Champions League from 2024, but only if they have a good enough European coefficient based on past performances.
Had the change been in place next season and Crystal Palace were to win the FA Cup next month, they would miss out on Europe’s biggest competition.
However, if Chelsea, Liverpool or Manchester City, the other semi-finalists, were to win the cup and finish outside the top four, they would squeeze in thanks to their European track records.
The changes are part of UEFA proposals to increase the number of clubs in the Champions
League from 32 to 36.Two of the extra spots will go to teams ranked highest on UEFA’s coefficient list who finished either one place outside a Champions League spot in their league or won their domestic cup.
Moyes, below, criticised the plans as his team prepare to host Lyon tonight in the first leg of their Europa League quarter-final.
The manager, whose side qualified for the competition by finishing sixth in the Premier League last year, said: “I bet you UEFA were not expecting West Ham to be in this position. “That’s why we need to keep encouraging UEFA to bring in other teams. We’re the new boys on the block. Maybe we might not have got into this competition if there were different rules. We really want to show we can challenge.
“When we qualified, we were thrilled. We’re doing well and we’re really enjoying it.
“Getting to the quarter-final of a European competition is a big deal for any club. More so for us because we weren’t expected to be in it.”
Hammers vice-chairwoman Karren Brady has described the move by UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin as ‘Putin-esque’.
West Ham staged a superb comeback in their last-16 clash with Seville to go through 2-1 on aggregate but Moyes has warned his side they will have to wise up tonight. He said: “We have to be clever and disciplined. However, I have a team now with more international players than we’ve ever had. I am hoping they can bring all that experience to the table.”
Moyes is unhappy Lyon’s squad tonight could feature Brazilian winger Tete, who they signed from Ukrainian side Shakhtar Donetsk last week on an emergency loan, when Premier League sides were not allowed to.
He added: “We’d really like to support all Ukraine-based players. But it would have been fairer to say they couldn’t come into European competitions at this stage. The Premier League hasn’t allowed us to do it but France and UEFA have.”
WEST HAM (probable): Areola; Johnson, Dawson, Zouma, Cresswell; Rice, Soucek; Bowen, Benrahma, Fornals; Antonio.
LYON (probable): Lopes; Dubois, Mendes, Lukeba, Emerson; Aouar, Ndombele; Faivre, Paqueta, Toko Ekambi; Dembele.