3 Mar 2010European failure 'will cost Scottish football'

Football Clubs News | Football Finance News

David Taylor, the former chief executive of the SFA, has claimed that the loss of a second UEFA Champions League place will damage football in Scotland.

Due to changes in UEFA's coefficient ranking table, the Scottish Premier League will receive just one place in Europe's elite club competition from the 2011-12 season onwards.

Taylor, who is now the UEFA events chief executive, told BBC Sport that the financial impact of the change will be felt by clubs across the country.

"It's a big blow," he said. "These are large sums of money which used to be coming into Scotland and in future these sums will not be invested in Scottish clubs, so it has to be a big negative."

From 2011, Scotland's sole UEFA Champions League representative will also have to progress through qualifying rounds to reach the first proper stage of the competition.

Rangers finished bottom of their group after failing to win a game in the UEFA Champions League this season, while Celtic were beaten by Arsenal in the final qualifying round.

Written by Paul Roberts

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