Warning, Benfica! Corruption scandal rocks Europa League draw | OneFootball

Two days before the Europa League draw, which will determine the ties for the second qualifying round, there are unexpected changes in the group of possible opponents for Benfica. All because of a decision by the Ethics Committee of the Czech Football Federation.

The body found the cup winners, MFK Karviná, guilty of corruption, with the club also being relegated to the second division and ordered to pay 10 million Czech crowns (around €410,000). There is still no decision from UEFA, but all signs point to the governing body choosing to exclude the Czech club from its competitions because of this accusation, which would change the makeup of the draw pots.

Viktoria Plzen, who were on Benfica’s side as a seeded team, would move straight into the playoff round, with Hradec Králové entering this second qualifying round as an unseeded team. As a result, the first team on that side, which would come from the winner of the match involving Sheriff (Moldova) in the first qualifying round, would become seeded and therefore would no longer be a possible opponent for the Eagles.

The situation has not only left the draw in suspense, but could also change the training plans of some teams. Such as Viktoria Plzen, who began pre-season today thinking about that qualifying round... but may only play a month later (the playoff will be played on August 20 and 27).

These are Benfica’s possible opponents: the winner of the match involving Dynamo Kyiv (Ukraine) in the first qualifying round, Besiktas (Turkey), Twente (Netherlands), the winner of the match involving Hajduk Split (Croatia) in the first qualifying round, Tromso (Norway), the winner of the match involving CSKA Sofia (Bulgaria) in the first qualifying round, Hammarby (Sweden) and Hradec Králové (Czechia).

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇵🇹 here.