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Although "Žalgiris" hoped until the last moment to receive UEFA's mercy, Vilnius team coach Marekas Zubas was satisfied that his players will not have to play in the Europa League group stage matches, writes the newspaper "Lietuvos rytas."
The last battle of "Žalgiris" players against "Salzburg" was watched by a packed LFF stadium in the capital, but the Vilnius team will have to postpone their dream of seeing high-level opponents in Lithuania for at least another year.
The leaders of the A League once again lost 0:2 to the Austrian vice-champions in the Europa League qualifying round 4th stage match on Thursday evening, and on Friday did not receive good news from Monaco.
Although "Žalgiris" was among the 30 teams vying for the last place in the Europa League group stage matches, the only lucky ticket went to the Nicosia APOEL club.
UEFA decided to hold additional draws among all clubs that did not overcome the last qualifying barrier, and during the ceremony held on Friday at the Monaco "Meridien Beach Plaza" hotel, journalist Emmetas Malone from "The Irish Times" drew a ball with the name of the Cypriot team.
APOEL officials could definitely raise a glass of beer - by entering the Europa League group stage tournament, the Cypriots secured a minimum payment of 1.3 million euros from UEFA.
For each victory in the group stage tournament, teams will receive an additional prize of 200, and for draws - 100 thousand euros.
Polish prediction proved correct
The coaches of the Vilnius club had only a 3.33 percent chance of winning the UEFA Europa League lottery.
"I am not dissatisfied with UEFA's decision," admitted "Žalgiris" coach M. Zubas after the play-off match against the "Salzburg" club, commenting on UEFA's chosen way of determining who should be awarded the vacant place after the disqualification of the Istanbul "Fenerbahce". "Even before this match, I said: we have only a few percent chance of getting that spot.
Lithuania is a small country, and at this level, big money is involved and business starts. We do not have strong connections with UEFA.
That is why we did not have a chance."
The leaders of "Žalgiris" hoped until the last minute that they would draw a fortunate ticket and have the opportunity to host three more football festivals in Vilnius.
But the 49-year-old Polish coach training the capital's team admitted that participation in group stage matches would only bring additional worries to the team.
"If we were lucky enough to draw the tickets, there would be problems with the stadium, players, schedule.
No one expected that we would go this far, so those questions would be very complicated," explained M. Zubas on Thursday evening.
Did "Arsenal" influence?
The most ardent "Žalgiris" fans managed to briefly display a banner with an uncensored inscription "F..k UEFA" during the match against the Austrians in Vilnius.
But even more angry slogans could be shown by the "Salzburg" fans, as it was former opponents of the Vilnius team who became the main victims of this story.
After the match against "Žalgiris," the Austrians unofficially hinted to the Vilnius team that they were preparing to continue their legal battle with UEFA. The representatives of "Salzburg" are convinced that European football leaders applied double standards when assessing two similar cases.
This summer, UEFA removed not only Istanbul's "Fenerbahce," but also Kharkiv's "Metalist" team from all of its tournaments.
Later, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in Lausanne coincidentally announced on August 28th that it had rejected the appeals of Turkish and Ukrainian clubs against UEFA sanctions.
But in the case of "Metalist," UEFA acted more decisively and quickly.
Having lost to PAOK in the Champions League qualifying round 3rd stage, "Metalist" had the right to play against "Schalke" in the Champions League play-offs, and having to play against Tel Aviv's "Maccabi" in the Europa League qualifiers, they directly entered the group stage matches of this tournament.
Having lost to "Salzburg" in the Champions League qualifying round 3rd stage, "Fenerbahce" did not receive a similar UEFA mercy. The Istanbul team was allowed to compete against "Arsenal" in the Champions League play-offs, and the Austrians lost the opportunity to fight for a place in the Champions League.
They are convinced: the final UEFA decision regarding "Fenerbahce" was deliberately made a week later so that the influential English club would have a guaranteed place in the Champions League.
No one doubted that the Istanbul team would be disqualified, so allegedly this was done to protect "Arsenal's" interests.
Even if the London team had lost to the Turks, they would have entered the Champions League, but there were certainly no guarantees in advance for the match against "Salzburg."
The clubs from Salonica and Tel Aviv, who were involved in the "Metalist" case, will now compete in the Europa League group stage matches, but in the case of "Salzburg" and "Žalgiris," UEFA indeed made a different decision.
Four Lithuanians will play
Four Lithuanian national team footballers will continue to play in the Europa League.
Goalkeeper Giedrius Arlauskis made it to the group stage matches with Kazan's "Rubin," forward Deivydas Matulevičius - with Tirgu Jiu's "Pandurii," defender Gediminas Vičius - with Karaganda's "Shakhtar," and defender Marius Stankevičius - with Rome's "Lazio" club. In 2013, the Europa League was won by London's "Chelsea" club, which is participating in the Champions League this season.
