2016–17 UEFA Champions League qualifying phase and play-off round
The 2016–17 UEFA Champions League qualifying phase and play-off round began on 28 June and ended on 24 August 2016. A total of 56 teams competed in the qualifying phase and play-off round to decide 10 of the 32 places in the group stage of the 2016–17 UEFA Champions League.[1]
The schedule of the competition was as follows (all draws were held at the UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland, unless stated otherwise).[1][2][3][4]
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 would be applied, i.e., the team that scored more goals away from home over the two legs advances. If away goals were also equal, then 30 minutes of extra time would be played, divided into two 15-minute halves. The away goals rule would be 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 would be 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 by draw. 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 are purely for convenience of the draw and for ensuring that teams from the same association are not drawn against each other, and do not resemble any real groupings in the sense of the competition.[1]
Teams
There were two routes which the teams were separated into during qualifying:
Champions Route, which included all domestic champions which do not qualify directly for the group stage.
League Route (also called the Non-champions Path or the Best-placed Path), which included all domestic non-champions which did not qualify directly for the group stage.
A total of 56 teams (41 in Champions Route, 15 in League Route) were involved in the qualifying phase and play-off round. The 10 winners of the play-off round (5 in Champions Route, 5 in League Route) advanced to the group stage to join the 22 teams which enter in the group stage. The 15 losers of the third qualifying round entered the Europa League play-off round, and the 10 losers of the play-off round enter the Europa League group stage.[1]
[1]Skënderbeu (Coeff: 7.825) were excluded from participating in the 2016–17 European competitions by UEFA for match-fixing.[15][16] They appealed the decision to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, and UEFA agreed to suspend the exclusion and Skënderbeu Korçë were included in the second qualifying round draw.[17] The final decision to exclude Skënderbeu was made by the Court of Arbitration for Sport on 6 July 2016, before the second qualifying round was played.[18][19] As a result, the berth was given to the runners-up Partizani.[20]
A total of 34 teams played in the second qualifying round: 30 teams which entered in this round, and the four winners of the first qualifying round. The draw was held on 20 June 2016.[5][21]
† 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.
†† Skënderbeu would have qualified for the Champions League second qualifying round as the champions of the 2015–16 Albanian Superliga, but were excluded from participating in the 2016–17 European competitions by UEFA for match-fixing. They were included in the second qualifying round awaiting an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, and participated in the draw. On 6 July 2016, after their appeal was denied, they were replaced in the Second qualifying round by Partizani.[20]
Summary
The first legs were played on 12 and 13 July, and the second legs were played on 19 and 20 July 2016.
The third qualifying round was split into two separate sections: Champions Route (for league champions) and League Route (for league non-champions). The losing teams in both sections entered the 2016–17 UEFA Europa League play-off round.
A total of 30 teams played in the third qualifying round:[7]
Champions Route: three teams which enter in this round, and the 17 winners of the second qualifying round.
League Route: ten teams which enter in this round.
The draw for the third qualifying round was held on 15 July 2016.[7][26]
† 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.
†† On 17 July 2014, the UEFA emergency panel ruled that Ukrainian and Russian clubs would not be drawn against each other "until further notice" due to the political unrest between the countries.[27][8]
Summary
The first legs were played on 26 and 27 July, and the second legs were played on 2 and 3 August 2016.
The play-off round was split into two separate sections: Champions Route (for league champions) and League Route (for league non-champions). The losing teams in both sections entered the 2016–17 UEFA Europa League group stage.
A total of 20 teams played in the play-off round:[9]
Champions Route: the ten Champions Route winners of the third qualifying round.
League Route: five teams which entered in this round, and the five League Route winners of the third qualifying round.
The draw for the play-off round was held on 5 August 2016.[9][31]
^ abValletta played their home matches at Hibernians Stadium, Paola, instead of their regular stadium National Stadium, Ta' Qali.[23]
^ abAlashkert played their home matches at Vazgen Sargsyan Republican Stadium, Yerevan, instead of their regular stadium Alashkert Stadium, Yerevan.
^ abQarabağ played their home matches at Tofiq Bahramov Republican Stadium, Baku, instead of their regular stadium Azersun Arena, Baku.[24]
^ abTrenčín played their home matches at Štadión pod Dubňom, Žilina, instead of their regular stadium Štadión na Sihoti, Trenčín.
^Mladost Podgorica played their home match at City Stadium, Podgorica, instead of their regular stadium Stadion FK Mladost, Podgorica.
^ abPartizani played their home matches at Elbasan Arena, Elbasan, instead of their regular stadium Selman Stërmasi Stadium, Tirana.
^ abDundalk played their third qualifying round home match at Tallaght Stadium, Dublin, and play-off round home match at Aviva Stadium, Dublin, instead of their regular stadium Oriel Park, Dundalk.[29][30]
^Shakhtar Donetsk played their home match at Arena Lviv, Lviv, instead of their regular stadium Donbass Arena, Donetsk, due to the war conditions in Eastern Ukraine.
^Ludogorets Razgrad played their play-off round home match at Vasil Levski National Stadium, Sofia, instead of their regular stadium Ludogorets Arena, Razgrad.
References
^ abcde"Regulations of the UEFA Champions League 2016/17 Season" (PDF). UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. Retrieved 10 June 2016.
^"Road to Cardiff: the 2016/17 season calendar". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 30 May 2016. Retrieved 10 June 2016.
^"2016/17 Champions League match calendar". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. Retrieved 10 June 2016.
^"UEFA European Football Calendar 2016/2017". Bert Kassies. Archived from the original on 2016-07-01.
^ abc"First and second qualifying round draws". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. Retrieved 10 June 2016.
^"Watch Champions League draws on Monday". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 17 June 2016. Retrieved 19 June 2016.
^ abc"UEFA Champions League third qualifying round draw". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. Retrieved 10 June 2016.
^ ab"Champions League third qualifying round draw: Friday". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 11 July 2016. Retrieved 14 July 2016.
^ abc"UEFA Champions League play-off draw". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. Retrieved 10 June 2016.
^"Teams set for Champions League play-off draw". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. Retrieved 3 August 2016.
^"Club coefficients 2015/16". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. Retrieved 10 June 2016.
^"UEFA Team Ranking 2016". kassiesa.home.xs4all.nl. Bert Kassies. Retrieved 10 June 2016.
^"2016/17 UEFA Champions League participants". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. Retrieved 10 June 2016.
^"Who is in the UEFA Champions League and when do they enter?". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 20 June 2016. Retrieved 20 June 2016.
^"UEFA pezullon padrejtësisht Skëndërbeun nga Europa për sezonin 2016- 2017" [UEFA unfairly suspending Skënderbeu from Europe for the 2016–2017 season]. kfskenderbeu.al (in Albanian). Skënderbeu Korçë. 6 June 2016. Archived from the original on 12 June 2016. Retrieved 7 June 2016.
^"Albania's KF Skenderbeu banned from Europe for match-fixing". espnfc.com. ESPN FC. 6 June 2016. Retrieved 7 June 2016.
^"Skënderbeu apelon në CAS, UEFA e fut përkohësisht në short". supersport.al. 16 June 2016. Archived from the original on 15 August 2017. Retrieved 6 July 2016.
^"UEFA welcomes CAS decision on Skënderbeu". UEFA.org. Union of European Football Associations. 6 July 2016. Archived from the original on 12 May 2017. Retrieved 6 July 2016.
^"Media release - Football - The appeal filed by KS Skenderbeu is dismissed by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS)" (pdf). tas-cas.org. Court of Arbitration for Sport. 6 July 2016. Retrieved 6 July 2016.
^ ab"Partizani replace Skënderbeu in Champions League". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 6 July 2016. Retrieved 6 July 2016.
^ ab"Champions League first and second qualifying round draws". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 20 June 2016. Retrieved 20 June 2016.
^ abcdefgh"Summary UEFA Champions League - Round 1". Soccerway. Retrieved 2 July 2016.
^"UEFA Champions League: Valletta face B36". www.vallettafc.net. Valletta F.C. 20 June 2016. Archived from the original on 20 August 2016. Retrieved 21 June 2016.
^""Qarabağ" -"Düdelanj" matçının başlama saatı məlum oldu" [Qarabağ - Dudelange's kickoff time has been announced]. qarabagh.com (in Azerbaijani). Qarabağ FK. 21 June 2016. Archived from the original on 9 July 2016. Retrieved 22 June 2016.
^ abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyzaaabacadaeafagah"Summary UEFA Champions League - Round 2". Soccerway. Retrieved 17 July 2016.
^"UEFA Champions League third qualifying round draw". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 15 July 2016. Retrieved 15 July 2016.
^"Emergency Panel decisions". UEFA.org. 17 July 2014.
^ abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyzaaabacad"Summary UEFA Champions League - Round 3". Soccerway. Retrieved 4 August 2016.
^"Here's why Dundalk won't be able to play their crunch Champions League qualifier in front of their home fans". independent.ie. Irish Independent. 21 July 2016. Retrieved 21 July 2016.
^"Dundalk will play Champions League playoff at Aviva Stadium". irishtimes.com. The Irish Times. 4 August 2016. Retrieved 5 August 2016.
^"Champions League play-off draw made". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 5 August 2016. Retrieved 5 August 2016.
^ abcde"Full Time Summary Play-Offs 1st leg – Wednesday 17 August 2016" (PDF). UEFA.org. Union of European Football Associations. 17 August 2016. Retrieved 17 August 2016.
^ abcde"Full Time Summary Play-Offs 2nd leg – Tuesday 23 August 2016" (PDF). UEFA.org. Union of European Football Associations. 23 August 2016. Retrieved 23 August 2016.
^ abcde"Full Time Summary Play-Offs 1st leg – Tuesday 16 August 2016" (PDF). UEFA.org. Union of European Football Associations. 16 August 2016. Retrieved 16 August 2016.
^ abcde"Full Time Summary Play-Offs 2nd leg – Wednesday 24 August 2016" (PDF). UEFA.org. Union of European Football Associations. 24 August 2016. Retrieved 24 August 2016.
^"Statistics — Qualifying phase — Team statistics — Goals". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. Retrieved 24 August 2016.
^"Statistics — Qualifying phase — Player statistics — Goals". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. Retrieved 24 August 2016.
^"Statistics — Qualifying phase — Player statistics — Assists". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. Retrieved 24 August 2016.
Note: In 1991–92, the competition was still known as the European Cup, but is included as it was the first to use a group stage format. In that season and 1992–93, there was no knockout phase between the group stage and final.