Scotland's top clubs are on Champions League red alert after it emerged upcoming changes will see the 11th ranked UEFA nation lose its automatic group stage spot.
Celtic and Rangers are both currently competing at the top table of European football for the first time since 2007 with Scottish sides having benefited from the nation’s rise to eighth in the co-efficient table. But an expansion to UEFA’s flagship tournament to come into effect from 2024-25 will see the number of countries whose champions are guaranteed automatic entry to the group stage cut to 10.
Instead the club with the highest co-efficient in the champions path will take the place of the 11th ranked nation. And with Scotland’s co-efficient taking a battering this season on the back of a tough Champions League schedule for both sides of the Old Firm then the alarm bells are ringing with Belgium, Austria and Serbia looking to close the gap.
