Latest news with #UefaConferenceLeague
Straits Times
10 hours ago
- Sport
- Straits Times
Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca ‘trusts' Mykhailo Mudryk after doping charge
Chelsea's Mykhailo Mudryk could face up to a suspension of four years following his positive drug test. PHOTO: REUTERS PHILADELPHIA – Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca said on June 19 that he still maintained trust in Mykhailo Mudryk, after the Ukrainian winger was charged by England's Football Association (FA) with violating anti-doping rules. But he also confirmed that the club were looking to strengthen in his position. 'Mischa is a Chelsea player. As long as he is a Chelsea player, I will trust all the Chelsea players,' Maresca told reporters in Philadelphia ahead of his team's Club World Cup clash with Flamengo on June 20. Mudryk has not played for Chelsea since Nov 28 following his provisional suspension by the FA for an 'adverse finding in a routine urine test' in December. He was reported to have had the prohibited performance-enhancing substance meldonium in his positive test and could face a potential ban of up to four years under FA rules. Mudryk, who has denied intentional wrongdoing, is not with the Chelsea squad for the tournament in the United States and Maresca said he has had no contact with the player since the Uefa Conference League final win over Real Betis in Poland late in May. 'The last time I spoke with Mischa was in Poland and he was quite good,' he said. 'Since that day I have not spoken with him so I don't know how he is now but for sure in the next days, in the next weeks, we are going to have contact with him.' Mudryk was signed from Shakhtar Donetsk in January 2023 for €100 million but his time at Chelsea has been dogged by inconsistency. He has scored just 10 goals in 73 appearances in all competitions for the Blues. Maresca revealed that he is hoping to sign a new wide attacker before the start of the Premier League season. 'We had already one entire season almost without Mischa, last season, and we tried to find different solutions with some of the academy players, like Tyrique (George), but we are going to decide to go for a winger,' the Italian said. 'It is quite clear that it is a position we need to improve.' Meanwhile at the Club World Cup, Chelsea can expect to face challenging conditions with heat and humidity rising in Philadelphia in recent days and the match starting at 2pm local time – after press time in Singapore. The game is likely to be key in deciding who tops Group D with both teams fresh from winning their opening match at the tournament – Chelsea got the better of Los Angeles FC in Atlanta while Flamengo defeated Esperance. Maresca added that he has reduced the intensity and duration of training sessions to ensure his players remain competitive for the matches ahead. 'It's not easy because of the temperature,' he said. 'We're going to try to rotate players. We need to rotate three, four, or five players each game. It's impossible for players to be at 100 per cent for 11 months straight.' AFP, REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Irish Times
2 days ago
- Sport
- Irish Times
Shamrock Rovers could face Cliftonville in second all-island clash in Europe this year
Shamrock Rovers will play Cliftonville in the second round of the Uefa Conference League if the Northern Irish team can beat St Joseph's of Gibraltar. The potential tie was revealed just a day after League of Ireland champions Shelbourne were drawn to play Linfield in the Champions League qualifiers. The tie will be played over two legs, with Rovers away in the first leg on July 24th and at home in the return on the 31st. St Joseph's now stand in the way of the next Dublin-Belfast clash. Shelbourne struggled on the way to a 3-2 aggregate win over the Gibraltarian side in the first round of Conference League qualifying last year. READ MORE Rovers have recently played Northern Irish opposition in Europe, as they beat Larne 4-1 in Windsor Park in last year's Conference League group phase. They were moved into the second round draw following Uefa's ruling not to admit Drogheda United to the competition. Last year's Conference League will serve as an example for all Irish teams in Europe, with Rovers earning over €6 million and advancing to the knockout rounds of the competition. In the group phase, Rovers finished above eventual finalists Real Betis, who also ended the season in sixth in La Liga. Shelbourne were involved in two draws at Uefa HQ in Nyon, Switzerland on Wednesday. They would face a clash with Azerbaijan's Qarabag FK should they beat Linfield in the Champions League qualifiers. The Azerbaijani champions have qualified for the competition outright once before, back in 2017/18 and were eliminated in the final round of qualification last year by Dinamo Zagreb. The loser of the Shelbourne-Linfield tie will face the loser of FK Zalgiris (Lithuania) vs Hamrun Spartans (Malta) in the second round of Conference League qualifiers. St Patrick's Athletic would face either Nomme Kalju of Estonia or FK Partizani Tirana of Albania in the second round if they progress through their first round match. In Tuesday's first round draw, the Inchicore-based team were drawn against Lithuania's FC Hegelmann, who were only founded in 2009. Pat's will host Hegelmann on July 10th in the first leg, and if they advance they would also host the first tie of their second round clash on the 24th. They are hoping to go one step further than last year, where they were knocked out by Istanbul Basaksehir in the playoff round. Hegelmann's only European appearance came in 2023, when they were knocked out by KF Shkupi of North Macedonia in the first round of Conference League qualification.
BBC News
2 days ago
- Sport
- BBC News
Swifts to play Vaduz and Reds could face Shamrock Rovers
Irish Cup winners Dungannon Swifts will face Liechtenstein side FC Vaduz in their first European fixture in 18 McAree's side enter the Uefa Conference League at the second stage of qualifying, the draw for which the draw took place on the winners of the first qualifying round tie between Irish Premiership European play-off winners Cliftonville and St Joseph's of Gibraltar will face League of Ireland Premier Division side Shamrock Rovers in the second qualifying will take on FC Sheriff Tiraspol of Moldova or FC Prishtina of Kosovo should they defeat Latvian outfit FRK Auda in round Premiership champions Linfield could face familiar opposition in the form of Qarabag if they overcome Shelbourne in the first round of Champions League first leg of that tie will be played on 22 or 23 July, with the Blues or Shels at home, followed by the second leg on 29 or 30 Healy's side lost on away goals to the Azerbaijan side in Europa League qualifying in 2019 despite a famous Shayne Lavery-inspired win at Windsor loser of the Linfield-Shelbourne tie will drop into the Conference League second round and will play the defeated side between FK Zalgiris of Lithuania and Hamrun Spartans of draw Shelbourne in Champions League qualifyingThe ties for the second round of Conference League qualifying are scheduled for Thursday, 24 and Thursday, 31 qualified for Europe by beating Cliftonville on penalties in a dramatic Irish Cup final in have twice played in Europe before, when they lost in the 2006 Intertoto Cup to Keflavik IF in the first round and in qualifying for the 2007-08 Uefa Cup, when they were defeated by Lithuanian side FK Irish Premiership clubs can progress past the second round of qualifying then they are potentially four matches away from replicating Larne's historic run to the League stage of the Conference League last season.
Scotsman
2 days ago
- Sport
- Scotsman
Dundee United Conference League draw confirmed as trip to Luxembourg awaits
United learn who they will face in second qualifying round Sign up to our Football newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Dundee United have discovered who they will face in the Uefa Conference League second qualifying round. The Tannadice club may have expected to find themselves in the Europa League after pipping Aberdeen on the final day of the Scottish Premiership season to secure fourth place. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad However, Jim Goodwin's men were demoted to the Conference League after Aberdeen's shock Scottish Cup final win over Celtic. They will therefore enter Europe's third-tier event at the second qualifying round, with their opposition now known following Wednesday's draw at the House of European football in Nyon, Switzerland. Dundee United have learned theirUefa Conference League second qualifying round opponent. (Photo by) | Getty Images Trip to Luxembourg awaits United will face FC Una Strassen of Luxembourg for a place in the next round with the first leg taking place at Tannadice on Thursday, July 24 before the return leg in Strassen on Thursday, July 31. Strassen have only played once in European competition in their history, a two-legged match-up against Finnish side Kuopion Palloseura (KuPS) in last season's Conference League first qualifying round, which they lost 5-0 on aggregate. They play their home matches at the Complexe Sportif Jean Wirtz, which has a capacity of just 2,000. If United win, as they will be favourites to do, they would move to the third round of qualifying on August 7 and August 14, but are guaranteed to be unseeded. The draw is on July 21, but if they suffer a shock defeat against the minnows, they would crash out of Europe altogether. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad
Scotsman
2 days ago
- Sport
- Scotsman
Dundee United Conference League draw confirmed as trip to Luxembourg awaits
United learn who they will face in second qualifying round Sign up to our Football newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Dundee United have discovered who they will face in the Uefa Conference League second qualifying round. The Tannadice club may have expected to find themselves in the Europa League after pipping Aberdeen on the final day of the Scottish Premiership season to secure fourth place. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad However, Jim Goodwin's men were demoted to the Conference League after Aberdeen's shock Scottish Cup final win over Celtic. They will therefore enter Europe's third-tier event at the second qualifying round, with their opposition now known following Wednesday's draw at the House of European football in Nyon, Switzerland. Dundee United have learned theirUefa Conference League second qualifying round opponent. (Photo by) | Getty Images Trip to Luxembourg awaits United will face FC Una Strassen of Luxembourg for a place in the next round with the first leg taking place at Tannadice on Thursday, July 24 before the return leg in Strassen on Thursday, July 31. Strassen have only played once in European competition in their history, a two-legged match-up against Finnish side Kuopion Palloseura (KuPS) in last season's Conference League first qualifying round, which they lost 5-0 on aggregate. They play their home matches at the Complexe Sportif Jean Wirtz, which has a capacity of just 2,000. If United win, as they will be favourites to do, they would move to the third round of qualifying on August 7 and August 14, but are guaranteed to be unseeded. The draw is on July 21, but if they suffer a shock defeat against the minnows, they would crash out of Europe altogether. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad
