Can West Ham grab a European place ahead of Liverpool?

According to the Sunday People, West Ham are in line to grab a place in Europe – thanks to the Fair Play League.

West Ham top the Premier League table which awards points for discipline, positive play, respect towards opponents and the referee, plus behaviour of team officials and spectators.

UEFA give three places in the Europa League for the countries with the best Fair Play record and England, the Republic of Ireland and Holland are currently leading the way.

The downside is that West Ham would have to play their first qualifying round tie on July 2.

This would mean the players having a close season of just one month – the minimum allowed – before returning to training 11 days before the first tie.

Liverpool are currently second in the table, while struggling Burnley are not far behind in third.

West Ham would not be the first Premier League club to use this route into Europe - Fulham competed in the Europa League after being awarded a place through winning the Fair Play League in 2011-12

They played their first match on June 30, against NSI Runavik from the Faroe Islands hvaing qualified in 4th spot in the fair play table beacuse Chelsea, Spurs and Man United had all qualified anyway.

Posted on 29th March 2015