Summary

  • Crystal Palace will face Fredrikstad or FC Midtjylland in Conference League play-off round

  • Hibernian will face AEK Larnaca or Legia Warszawa if they beat Partizan Belgrade in third qualifying round

  • Dundee United to play AIK Stockholm or FC Gyor if they beat Rapid Vienna

  • Celtic to play Kairat Almaty or Slovan Bratislava in Champions League play-off round

  • Rangers to play RB Salzburg or Club Brugge if they beat FC Viktoria Plzen in third qualifying round

  • Aberdeen to face FCSB or FC Drita in Europa League play-off round

  • Click 'Get Involved' at the top of this page to have your say

Live Reporting

Emma Smith and Saffie Yates

  1. What are the rules?

    Crystal Palace fan protestGetty Images

    The rules of European football's governing body state that clubs owned, to a certain threshold of influence, by the same person or entity cannot compete in the same European competition.

    Uefa's rules set a deadline of 1 March 2025 to show proof of mutli-club ownership restructuring - a deadline Palace missed.

    But the South London team argued Textor does not hold any decisive influence at the club, but Uefa did not accept the Premier League club's defence.

    Uefa's regulations around multi-club ownership and European competitions are in place to prevent collusion.

    In the governing body's rulebook, a club is required to prove they are not "simultaneously involved in any capacity whatsoever in the management, administration, and/or sporting performance of more than one club participating in a Uefa club competition".

    Textor's Eagle Football owns a 43% stake in Palace and 77% stake in Lyon, but Premier League side argued they are an entity that operates entirely independently.

  2. Palace demoted to Conference League

    Palace protestGetty Images

    Back in June, Nottingham Forest asked for clarity from Uefa on Crystal Palace's position in Europe - with the club standing to gain if Palace were demoted to the Conference League.

    The Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis, who controls Greek side Olympiakos, avoided regulations around multi-club ownership by diluting his control of the Premier League side.

    John Textor took similar steps in order to help Palace's prospects of playing on the Europa League by agreeing to sell his 43% stake to New York Jets owner Woody Johnson in June.

    Textor later also resigned from his leadership position at Lyon. It all came too late for Palace though, it seems.

  3. How did Palace get here?

    Crystal PalaceGetty Images

    If you don't know how Crystal Palace ended up in the Conference League, settle in for a long and controversial story.

    The South London club beat Manchester City in the FA Cup final at Wembley, winning their first ever major trophy thanks to Eberechi Eze's 16th minute goal.

    This victory secured them a first ever European campaign, and the FA Cup winners were slated for Europa League football for the 2025-26 season.

    However, the Eagles were demoted to the Conference League for breaching multi-club ownership rules because American businessman John Textor owned a stake in the club and was the majority owner of French giants Lyon, who also qualified for the Europa League.

    Nottingham Forest have replaced Oliver Glasner's side in the Europa League, pending appeal.

    Palace have submitted an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport. But with that process ongoing, they are in the draw for the third tier competition today.

  4. What's next?

    Conference League play-off round draw

    Time: 13.00 BST

    British teams involved: Crystal Palace (England), Linfield (Northern Ireland), Larne (Northern Ireland), Dundee United (Scotland), Hibernian (Scotland)

  5. Uefa Conference League play-off draw

    Right, it's time to turn our attention to the final draw of the day, this time for the play-off round of the Uefa Conference League.

    European football's third competition only began in 2021-22, and it's proved to be a success - just ask West Ham supporters.

    Crystal Palace are in the draw for the play-off stage, though they didn't expect to be in this competition. More on that shortly.

  6. Who are Aberdeen's potential opponents? - FC Drita

    FC DritaGetty Images

    FC Drita are based in Gjilan and compete in the Football Superleague of Kosovo.

    Drita competed in the Champions League for the first time in the 2018-19 season, where they became the first Kosovar side to win a UCL match.

    They have had success in winning the Kosovan Super Cup once and the Kosovan Superleague three times.

    The club's home ground is the Gjilan City Stadium, which has a capacity of 9,000.

  7. Who are Aberdeen's potential opponents? - FCSB

    FCSBGetty Images

    FCSB, in their former guise of Steaua Bucharest, have not tasted European glory since winning the European Cup in 1986, defeating Barcelona in the final.

    This victory made history as they became the first Eastern European team to win the prestigious title. They had a chance to win it again in 1989, but lost to AC Milan in a penalty shootout.

    Current manager Elias Charalambous led the team to the Liga I title last season.

    FCSB lost to Shkendija from North Macedonia in the second round of Champions League qualifying, and finished 11th in the Europa League table last season, losing in their visit to Rangers.

  8. Get Involved

    Click 'Get involved' at the top of this page

    Ready to find out Palace’s maybe, pending legal action, possible opponents for a competition we maybe, pending legal action, possibly might be in? And the tie won’t even be until a week or so after the decision. A nightmare for travelling fans.

    Ben, Croydon

  9. When does the league phase start?

    Europa League

    The schedule for the league phase of the Europa League is as follows:

    • Matchday 1: 24 & 25 September 2025
    • Matchday 2: 2 October 2025
    • Matchday 3: 23 October 2025
    • Matchday 4: 6 November 2025
    • Matchday 5: 27 November 2025
    • Matchday 6: 11 December 2025
    • Matchday 7: 22 January 2026
    • Matchday 8: 29 January 2026

    The schedule for the knockout phase of the competition is as follows:

    • Knockout phase play-offs: 19 & 26 February 2026
    • Round of 16: 12 & 19 March 2026
    • Quarter-finals: 9 & 16 April 2026
    • Semi-finals: 30 April & 7 May 2026
    • Final: 20 May 2026 (Istanbul)

  10. Erm, FCSB?

    FCSB are the modern name of Steaua Bucharest, winners of the European Cup in 1986.

    They had to change their name following a variety of court cases over ownership disputes in recent years, and are not the continental force they once were.

    Still, it would bring a touch of European glamour and 1980s nostalgia should they face Aberdeen later this month.

  11. When does the Europa League start?

    Europa League

    Like the Champions League, the Europa League began last month with the first and second round of qualifiers.

    The third qualifying round begins on Thursday, with the second legs taking place on 14 August.

    Play-off ties will be played on August 21 & 28.

    Aston Villa and Nottingham Forest will enter the competition in the league phase, and could be joined by Celtic (if they lose in the Champions League play-off round) and Rangers if they lose in the Champions League third qualifying round or play-offs.

  12. Aberdeen to face FCSB or Drita
    Breaking

    Aberdeen

    The Dons will play either Romanian side FCSB - the modern incarnation of giants Steaua Bucharest - or Kosovan side Drita.

    The first leg will be played at Pittodrie on August 21, with the return match a week later.

    If Aberdeen win they go into the Europa League; lose and they drop into the Conference League.

  13. After some faffing about and explanation of byzantine rules, Aberdeen are about to learn their potential Europa League play-off opponents...

  14. Aberdeen in Europe

    Aberdeen

    Aberdeen are a side with a storied European football history. Their greatest moment came in 1983 when Sir Alex Ferguson's heroes beat Real Madrid 2-1 in the Cup Winners' Cup final.

    More recently, the last time Aberdeen got through qualifying at this level was in the 2007-08 Uefa Cup. They reached the knock-out stages where they were beaten by Bayern Munich.

    The Dons' last European adventure saw them reach the Conference League group stage in 2023-24, where they earned an impressive win over Eintracht Frankfurt but were eliminated after finishing in third place.

    Aberdeen v Eintracht FrankfurtGetty Images

  15. Get Involved

    Click 'Get involved' at the top of this page

    Unless Rangers improve by 100% from the weekend, we won't get past Plzen. Europa League may be our level this season.

    Kevin, Shetland

    Celtic looking to have a much easier route as expected, while Rangers after Saturday's match looks already a shoe in for not going through.

    Peter, Irvine

    A good draw for Celtic but we really need reinforcements to make sure we progress. Lacking cutting edge up top which is always a worry in tight play-off games.

    Finley, London

  16. Are there any restrictions in the draw?

    Teams from the following associations may not be drawn against each other:

    Armenia – Azerbaijan

    Gibraltar – Spain

    Kosovo – Bosnia and Herzegovina

    Kosovo – Serbia

    Ukraine – Belarus

    And sides from the same nation cannot face one another at this stage.

  17. Who could Aberdeen face?

    Aberdeen

    There are three groupings for the Europa League play-off draw, based on Uefa co-efficients. Aberdeen are in grouping 2 as one of the unseeded sides, so will definitely play a higher ranked team.

    If the Dons win their play-off tie, they qualify for the Europa League league phase. Lose, and they drop into the Conference League.

    Their list of potential opponents is:

    • Panathinaikos or Shakhtar Donetsk
    • Fredrikstad or Midtjylland
    • FCSB or FC Drita
    • Lech Poznan or Crvena Zvezda
    Aberdeen fansGetty Images

  18. What's next?

    Europa League play-off round draw

    Time: 12.00 BST

    British teams involved: Aberdeen (Scotland)

    Conference League play-off round draw

    Time: 13.00 BST

    British teams involved: Crystal Palace (England), Linfield (Northern Ireland), Larne (Northern Ireland), Dundee United (Scotland), Hibernian (Scotland)

  19. Who are Celtic's potential opponents? - Slovan Bratislava

    Slovan Bratislava, nicknamed the Sky Blues, are Slovakia's most successful club.

    Last season they secured their sixth consecutive Slovak league title, marking the 30th championship in the club's history.

    In 1969, Slovan beat Barcelona in the final of the Cup Winners' Cup to become the first and only Slovakian team to win a European competition.

    Celtic beat Slovan 5-1 in the opening game of the Champions League group phase last season, as Slovan lost all eight league matches.

  20. Who are Celtic's potential opponents? - Kairat

    Rafael UrazbakhtinGetty Images

    Kairat are based in Almaty, Kazakhstan. The club are champions of the Kazakhstan Premier League, the fourth domestic title in their history.

    Despite their domestic success, the club has yet to make any significant impact on the European stage - they have never made the group or league phase in any competition.

    The club is currently managed by Rafael Urazbakhtin (pictured) and under his leadership Kairat once again sit top of the table after 19 matches - the Kazakh league runs to an annual calendar, rather than the usual European system.

    Celtic have never played Kairat Almaty before but have beaten Shakhter Karagandy and Astana from Kazakhstan in 2013 and 2017.