Can FA Cup Semi-Finalists qualify for Europe? Many have asked as the likes of Grimsby Town, Sheffield United and Blackburn Rovers prepare for the Quarter-Final.
Fulham, Brighton & Hove Albion, Burnley, Manchester United and Manchester City make up the remainder of the last eight, with a trip to Wembley awaiting the four who progress from the Quarter-Final.
As we enter the latter stages of the FA Cup, some fans have wondered if their sides will qualify for Europe just by reaching the Semi-Final.
So, can FA Cup Semi-Finalists qualify for Europe? Let’s take a look…
Can FA Cup Semi-Finalists qualify for Europe?
Presumably, fans of Grimsby Town, Sheffield United, Blackburn Rovers and Burnley are asking this question more than those who support Brighton and Fulham, with the latter two on course to qualify for Europe regardless as they sit seventh and ninth in the Premier League respectively.
If that is the case, we’re afraid we have to disappoint fans of Grimsby, Blackburn, Sheffield United and Burnley.
Only the winner of the FA Cup receives a place in Europe, with those who lift England’s greatest domestic cup in June earning a spot in the UEFA Europa League Group Stage for next season.
The runner-up used to be given the UEFA Europe League Group Stage position if the FA Cup winner qualified for Europe anyway thanks to their Premier League standing.
However, that rule was scrapped a few years ago, and it now goes to whoever finishes sixth in the Premier League.
Wigan benefitted from a place in Europe after beating Manchester City 1-0 in the 2013 FA Cup final, and actually found themselves playing Europa League football in the 2013/14 campaign despite being relegated to the Championship.
As a result, there will be no romantic European adventure for the likes of Grimsby Town or Sheffield United if they make it to the FA Cup Semi-Final and suffer defeat.
Nevertheless, that in itself would be a fantastic achievement for one of the smaller sides left in the FA Cup.
Hopefully, we can witness an FA Cup fairytale this season, with an underdog going all the way.
In other news, £20m man who rejected Liverpool & Everton now receives 1st Germany call-up after stunning form
!function(f,b,e,v,n,t,s)
{if(f.fbq)return;n=f.fbq=function(){n.callMethod?
n.callMethod.apply(n,arguments):n.queue.push(arguments)};
if(!f._fbq)f._fbq=n;n.push=n;n.loaded=!0;n.version=’2.0′;
n.queue=[];t=b.createElement(e);t.async=!0;
t.src=v;s=b.getElementsByTagName(e)[0];
s.parentNode.insertBefore(t,s)}(window, document,script’,
‘
fbq(‘init’, ‘677672980820926’);
fbq(‘track’, ‘PageView’);
