It was always unlikely, though not entirely impossible, that we would be excluded from European competitions. For years, UEFA have been criticised by many fans in Europe for competitions and formats that clearly favour the big clubs and make them even richer, thus widening the gap between rich and not-so-rich clubs. The transition to a league format was another step that increased criticism, as it almost inevitably means that the big clubs always progress further than the smaller ones. The criticism goes so far that even some of the most fanatical fans of the big clubs boycott the competitions because they consider them unfair. I myself knew some Rapid die-hards who simply did not follow Rapid's European games for this reason.
If a club like ours, which sensationally qualifies, is now banned because of a strict interpretation of rules that have been violated by the big clubs for decades and then bent in their favour, it would be another scandal. Perhaps UEFA don't care, but I don't think so, given their declining reputation.
If a club like ours, which sensationally qualifies, is now banned because of a strict interpretation of rules that have been violated by the big clubs for decades and then bent in their favour, it would be another scandal. Perhaps UEFA don't care, but I don't think so, given their declining reputation.