PA article

PA Sport, 5 May 2005 FA REVEAL CHAMPIONS LEAGUE RULING

Everton have welcomed confirmation by the Football buttociation that the top four teams in the Barclays Premiership will enter the Champions League next season.

With Liverpool unlikely to earn qualification via the league, there had been suggestions that one of England's four places should go to the Anfield side if they were to beat AC Milan in Istanbul later this month.

But that possibility has been ruled out by the FA, although they say they will lobby UEFA for a fifth place on Liverpool's behalf.

The news was greeted with cautious relief by Everton - who are currently in fourth place, three points ahead of their city rivals with two games to play.

Everton chief executive Keith Wyness told the club's website, www.evertonfc.com: "Whilst we welcome the announcement from the FA regarding clarification on the fourth place qualification issue, we are still operating in a hypothetical situation with regards to Everton's position."

UEFA leave the allocation of each country's Champions League places in the hands of national buttociations.

And there had been some hope for Liverpool, who are three points behind Everton with two games to play, in the example set in 2000 by the Spanish FA who selected fifth-placed Real Madrid over fourth-placed Real Zaragoza after the former won the Champions League.

However, with the Premier League likely to have resisted any attempt to remove the reward from the team finishing fourth, the board of six chairmen decided to leave Liverpool's fate in UEFA's hands.

The board is made up of Dave Richards (Premier League), David Dein (Arsenal vice-chairman), Rupert Lowe (Southampton), Phil Gartside (Bolton), David Sheepshanks (Ipswich) and Peter Heard (Colchester).

The decision was endorsed by UEFA's director of communication, William Gaillard.

He said: "That is fine. This is the rule although the FA could have asked for an exception and replaced the fourth-placed team with the eventual winners of the Champions League if Liverpool win it.

"They have chosen not to. However, the Premiership is not over and there are still three games for Everton and two for Liverpool so we could have a nice race."

Liverpool do have small cause for hope with the FA intending to try to persuade UEFA to award fifth place to English football, although the competition's rules stipulate a maximum of four entrants from each country.

UEFA president Lennart Johansson has made it clear the buttociation's executive committee do have the power to make and enforce changes.

However, they will not take any action until after the final itself and should Liverpool win that, a decision would be made at the next executive committee meeting on June 17.

The Anfield side will have an ally in Everton, with Wyness adding: "Despite what is a most intense local rivalry, we do believe that if Liverpool were to win this year's tournament they should be invited to return as holders."

-- "I want to build a team that's invincible, so they'll have to send a man from Mars to beat us." - Bill Shankly