© EuroFootball.com
On Friday, Lithuania occupies only the 39th place out of 52 European states in the UEFA "Fair Play" list.
Seemingly insignificant, the "Fair Play" title gives small or less competitive football states the opportunity to earn an additional spot in the UEFA Cup.
At the moment, the list is topped by Scandinavian countries: Norway leads, closely followed by Denmark in second place, and Sweden in third.
The coefficient, which currently averages around eight, is calculated based on the club's demonstrated game play, respect for opponents and referees, behavior of fans and administration, and discipline (number of cards and penalties). Furthermore, this year UEFA only included states that have played at least 25 matches in club and national tournaments organized by UEFA between June 1, 2004 and March 31, 2005. In this regard, six states did not make the list: Liechtenstein, the Faroe Islands, Malta, San Marino, Andorra, and Luxembourg.
Lithuania is ranked only 39th in the list, but this is not surprising: all you have to do is attend matches in the A League or LFF Cup and see for yourself how the coach of Lithuania's strongest club almost fights with the referee using foul language, obscene remarks can be heard from the stands, fans chant racist slogans, and players on the field do not even bother to apologize to the injured opponent for aggressive play.
The "Fair Play" results will be calculated until May 31. The state that takes the first place will automatically receive an additional spot in the 2005-06 UEFA Cup. The team that showed the best "Fair Play" result in the national championship without qualifying for the UEFA Champions League or UEFA Cup will be awarded this spot. Countries ranking second to seventh will participate in the selection for the remaining two spots in the UEFA Cup.
"Fair Play" is a great opportunity for even teams that have been relegated from the top league, but have demonstrated fair play, to earn a spot in the UEFA Cup.
Preliminary "Fair Play" list:
Place/Country/Coefficient/Number of matches
1. Norway 8.239 44
-------2. Denmark 8.228 48
3. Sweden 8.099 60
4. Estonia 8.095 33
5. England 8.049 90
6. Germany 8.024 102
7. France 8.004 101
-------8. Switzerland 7.989 54
9. Latvia 7.986 46
10. Spain 7.980 135
...39. Lithuania 7.650 40
