2014–15 UEFA Europa League qualifying phase and play-off round
The 2014–15 UEFA Europa League qualifying phase and play-off round were played from 1 July to 28 August 2014. A total of 170 teams competed in the qualifying phase and play-off round to decide 31 of the 48 places in the group stage of the 2014–15 UEFA Europa League.[1]
Matches may also be played on Tuesdays or Wednesdays instead of the regular Thursdays due to scheduling conflicts.
Format
In the qualifying phase and play-off round, each tie was played over two legs, with each team playing one leg at home. The team that scored more goals on aggregate over the two legs advanced to the next round. If the aggregate score was level, the away goals rule was applied, i.e. the team that scored more goals away from home over the two legs advanced. If away goals were also equal, then 30 minutes of extra time was played. The away goals rule was again applied after extra time, i.e. if there were goals scored during extra time and the aggregate score was still level, the visiting team advanced by virtue of more away goals scored. If no goals were scored during extra time, the tie was decided by penalty shoot-out.[1]
In the draws for each round, teams were seeded based on their UEFA club coefficients at the beginning of the season, with the teams divided into seeded and unseeded pots. A seeded team was drawn against an unseeded team, with the order of legs in each tie decided randomly. Due to the limited time between matches, the draws for the second and third qualifying rounds took place before the results of the previous round were known. For these draws (or in any cases where the result of a tie in the previous round was not known at the time of the draw), the seeding was carried out under the assumption that the team with the higher coefficient of an undecided tie advanced to this round, which means if the team with the lower coefficient was to advance, it simply took the seeding of its defeated opponent. Prior to the draws, UEFA may form "groups" in accordance with the principles set by the Club Competitions Committee, but they were purely for convenience of the draw and for ensuring that teams from the same association were not drawn against each other, and did not resemble any real groupings in the sense of the competition.[1]
Teams
A total of 170 teams were involved in the qualifying phase and play-off round (including 15 losers of the Champions League third qualifying round which entered the play-off round). The 31 winners of the play-off round advanced to the group stage to join the 7 automatic qualifiers and 10 losers of the Champions League play-off round.
Below were the participating teams (with their 2014 UEFA club coefficients),[6] grouped by their starting rounds.[7]
Key to colours
Winners of the play-off round advanced to the group stage
A total of 78 teams played in the first qualifying round.[8] The draw was held on 23 June 2014.[9] Teams were pre-assigned numbers by UEFA so that the draw could be held in one run for all groups with ten teams and another run for all groups with twelve teams.
A total of 80 teams played in the second qualifying round:[8] 41 teams which entered in this round, and the 39 winners of the first qualifying round. The draw was held on 23 June 2014.[9] Teams were pre-assigned numbers by UEFA so that the draw could be held in one run for all groups.
† Winners of the first qualifying round, whose identity was not known at the time of the draw. Teams in italics defeated a team with a higher coefficient in the first qualifying round, thus effectively taking the coefficient of their defeated opponent in the draw for the second qualifying round.
Summary
The first legs were played on 17 July, and the second legs were played on 22 and 24 July 2014.
On 17 July 2014, the UEFA Emergency Panel decided that Israeli clubs must play their home legs outside of the country "until further notice" due to the 2014 Israel–Gaza conflict.[12]
A total of 58 teams played in the third qualifying round:[15] 18 teams which entered in this round, and the 40 winners of the second qualifying round. The draw was held on 18 July 2014.[16] Teams were pre-assigned numbers by UEFA so that the draw could be held in one run for all groups with twelve teams and another run for all groups with ten teams.
† Winners of the second qualifying round, whose identity was not known at the time of the draw. Teams in italics defeated a team with a higher coefficient in the second qualifying round, thus effectively taking the coefficient of their defeated opponent in the draw for the third qualifying round.
Summary
The first legs were played on 31 July, and the second legs were played on 7 August 2014.
On 17 July 2014, the UEFA Emergency Panel decided that Israeli clubs must play their home legs outside of the country "until further notice" due to the 2014 Israel–Gaza conflict.[12]
A total of 62 teams played in the play-off round: 18 teams which entered in this round, the 29 winners of the third qualifying round, and the 15 losers of the Champions League third qualifying round.[17] The draw was held on 8 August 2014.[18] Teams were pre-assigned numbers by UEFA so that the draw could be held in one run for all groups with ten teams and another run for all groups with twelve teams.
On 17 July 2014, the UEFA Emergency Panel decided that Israeli clubs must play their home legs outside of the country "until further notice" due to the 2014 Israel–Gaza conflict.[12]
^ abУЕФА поменяла порядок матчей в паре Заря - Фейеноорд [UEFA changed the order of matches for Zorya–Feyenoord]. Dynamo Kyiv Official website (in Ukrainian). ua-football.com. 12 August 2014. Retrieved 12 August 2014.
Note: Between the 1999–2000 and 2008–09 seasons, the competition was still known as the UEFA Cup. All seasons are included following the competition's absorption of the Cup Winners' Cup.
