Soccer Champions LeagueEverton have welcomed yesterday's confirmation by the English Football Association that the top four teams in the Premiership will enter the Champions League next season.
With Liverpool struggling to earn qualification via the league, there had been suggestions that one of England's four places should go to the Anfield side if they were to beat AC Milan in Istanbul later this month.
But that possibility has been ruled out by the FA, although they say they will lobby Uefa for a fifth place on Liverpool's behalf.
The news was greeted with cautious relief by Everton - who are currently in fourth place, three points ahead of their city rivals with three games to play.
Everton chief executive Keith Wyness told the club's website, www.evertonfc.com: "Whilst we welcome the announcement from the FA regarding clarification on the fourth place qualification issue, we are still operating in a hypothetical situation with regards to Everton's position."
Uefa leave the allocation of each country's Champions League places in the hands of national associations.
And there had been some hope for Liverpool, who are three points behind Everton with two games to play, in the example set in 2000 by the Spanish FA who selected fifth-placed Real Madrid over fourth-placed Real Zaragoza after the former won the Champions League.
However, with the Premier League likely to have resisted any attempt to remove the reward from the team finishing fourth, the board of six chairmen decided to leave Liverpool's fate in Uefa's hands.
The board is made up of Dave Richards (Premier League), David Dein (Arsenal vice-chairman), Rupert Lowe (Southampton), Phil Gartside (Bolton), David Sheepshanks (Ipswich) and Peter Heard (Colchester).
The decision was endorsed by Uefa's director of communication, William Gaillard.
He told the Press Association: "That is fine. This is the rule although the FA could have asked for an exception and replaced the fourth-placed team with the eventual winners of the Champions League if Liverpool win it.
"They have chosen not to. However, the Premiership is not over and there are still three games for Everton and two for Liverpool so we could have a nice race."
Liverpool do have small cause for hope with the FA intending to try to persuade Uefa to award fifth place to English football, although the competition's rules stipulate a maximum of four entrants from each country.
Uefa president Lennart Johansson has made it clear the association's executive committee do have the power to make and enforce changes. However, they will not take any action until after the final and should Liverpool win that, a decision would be made at the next executive committee meeting on June 17th.
The Anfield side will have an ally in Everton, with Wyness adding: "Despite what is a most intense local rivalry, we do believe that if Liverpool were to win this year's tournament they should be invited to return as holders."
Meanwhile, Milan are feeling the effects of a draining season as the Champions League final approaches. Tiredness was a common complaint from their coach Carlo Ancelotti and his players after they scraped past PSV Eindhoven on Wednesday night. A congested fixture list is apparently taking its toll as they seek to win both Serie A and the European Cup. Wednesday's game was their ninth in 29 days - Liverpool reached the same number against Chelsea - and there will be no respite for Milan as they play at home to Juventus in a top-of-the-table encounter on Sunday.
"We were second best," said the Milan defender Alessandro Nesta of the match at PSV. "Undoubtedly we felt the effects of nine games in 29 days; now we have to focus on Juventus.
"We need to take a breather.
"We are playing too many matches and we are not machines."
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