Sport
ESPN journalist shares ‘Bad news’ for Rangers after what happened last night
Dale Johnson has shared “bad news” for Rangers and Celtic on Thursday 11 April, as Scotland lost its automatic Champions League spot for 2025-26 and beyond.
ESPN’s Johnson shared the update on X, after a Viktoria Plzen draw against Fiorentina in the Conference League took Czechia above Scotland in the coefficient rankings.
A 0-0 stalemate sparse of chances between the two has serious ramifications elsewhere, meaning that as the Champions League expands from next season, a team from Czechia such as Plzen, rather than one from Scotland, will claim the final automatic spot.
Johnson posted an explanation on x, saying: “Bad news for Celtic and Rangers. Scotland loses its automatic place in the Champions League group stage as of 2025-26 (so affecting the 2024-25 Scottish champs). Viktoria Plzen’s draw with Fiorentina means Czechia takes it off Scotland.”
Rangers will rue missed European opportunities
League placings, European progression and numbers of teams who qualify for a particular competition all contribute towards UEFA’s coefficient rankings, and Rangers will certainly feel hard done by after seasons of hard work on the continent.
Celtic have embarrassed themselves in Europe in recent years, and despite that one blip in the Champions League from Rangers, they have been flying the flag for Scotland all alone.
Making it all the way to the Europa League final the year beforehand was massive for the club and the country, but others have not helped out anywhere near enough.
With Philippe Clement at the helm from October onwards, Rangers rallied in style after a slow start to the Europa League this time around.
It came to an end in the round of 16 this time around though, being edged out by Benfica despite dominating the second leg, losing 3-2 on aggregate.
Scottish sides like Rangers now face an uphill battle to even have a chance of reaching the Champions League after this season, but given what we’ve seen at Ibrox in the past decade or so, that’s just how they like it.
