Union of European Football Association competition
The qualifying phase of the 2013–14 UEFA Europa League was played from 2 July to 8 August, to define 29 entrants in the competition's play-off round, who would then in turn compete for a place in the group stage.[1]
Matches might have been 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 thirty 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 133 teams were involved in the first three qualifying rounds, 29 of which advanced to the play-off round.
Below were the participating teams (with their 2013 UEFA club coefficients),[5] grouped by their starting rounds.[6]
Key to colours
Winners of the play-off round (and lucky losers) advanced to the group stage
‡ On 25 June 2013, Beşiktaş were banned by UEFA from the 2013–14 UEFA club competitions because of the 2011 Turkish sports corruption scandal.[7][8] They appealed the ban to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, and on 18 July 2013 it was ruled that the ban should be temporarily lifted and they should be included in the qualifying round draws of the Europa League, until the final decision to be made before the end of August 2013.[9] Beşiktaş competed in the Europa League play-off round and won. On 30 August 2013, the Court of Arbitration for Sport upheld UEFA's ban, meaning Beşiktaş were banned from the 2013–14 UEFA Europa League.[10] UEFA decided to replace Beşiktaş in the Europa League group stage with Tromsø, who were eliminated by Beşiktaş in the play-off round.[11]
First qualifying round
Seeding
A total of 76 teams played in the first qualifying round.[12] The draw was held on 24 June 2013.[13]
‡ Bulgaria's third entrant in the Europa League was unconfirmed at the time of the draws for the first and second qualifying rounds. For these draws, UEFA used the coefficient of CSKA Sofia (8.450), the original entrant. After the draw, it was confirmed that the berth was given to Botev Plovdiv.
Summary
The first legs were played on 2, 3 and 4 July, and the second legs were played on 9, 10 and 11 July 2013.
Inter Turku lodged a protest after losing the second leg to Víkingur Gøta,[14][15] and two match officials were later banned for life by UEFA for attempted match-fixing.[16]
A total of 80 teams played in the second qualifying round:[12] 42 teams which entered in this round, and the 38 winners of the first qualifying round. The draw was held on 24 June 2013.[13]
† 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.
‡ Bulgaria's third entrant in the Europa League was unconfirmed at the time of the draws for the first and second qualifying rounds. For these draws, UEFA used the coefficient of CSKA Sofia (8.450), the original entrant. After the draw, it was confirmed that the berth was given to Botev Plovdiv.
Summary
The first legs were played on 16 and 18 July, and the second legs were played on 25 July 2013.
A total of 58 teams played in the third qualifying round:[172] 18 teams which entered in this round, and the 40 winners of the second qualifying round. The draw was held on 19 July 2013.[173]
† 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 1 August, and the second legs were played on 8 August 2013.
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.
