Why does Sparta go straight to the EL group and Slavia has to go to the preliminary round? Fans don’t understand the UEFA system

Those who didn’t know this fact before Tuesday’s doubleheader were in for a big surprise. Sparta, after dropping out of the third preliminary round of the Champions League, goes straight to the Europa League group, while Slavia, after dropping out of the same stage of the same competition, still has to go to the preliminary round. How is this possible?

At first glance it makes no sense. Slavia, as champions, should have an easier path to the cups than the second team. But that is not the case at all.

In the eyes of UEFA, moving to the third preliminary round is enough of an advantage. Sparta, as runners-up, had to start in the second round of the Champions League. There they faced Rapid Vienna, which they eliminated after a 2-0 home win.

The Sešiwani team dropped out of the third round of the Champions League, the Leten team dropped out of the third round of the non-champions part of the Champions League. But the UEFA system is set up like this.

The teams in the non-championship part have a certain EL group as a reward for the tougher opponents, while the champions have easier opponents on paper, so they still have to fight their way into the Europa League.

Nothing easy awaits Slavia, as Legia Warsaw and Tomas Pekhart will be in the Europa League Play-Off. The Polish champions started in the second round of the Champions League, where they knocked out Estonian Flora, but then fell short to Dinamo Zagreb.

Sparta can now only focus on the league and wait for their opponents in the Europa League group stage.

A slight consolation for the Slavs may be the fact that if their team were to make it through to the Europa League, they would be seeded in the first basket thanks to their excellent results in recent years. In the Conference League, they would be in that group, while in the Champions League the Susians would travel up to the fourth basket.

Source: UEFA, Livesport