Celtic and the rest of the Scottish Premiership have been dealt a blow after hearing that they could lose a Champions League spot after next season.
UEFA are currently assessing how they hand out their European places based on the coefficient rankings, with the Scottish Premiership one of those under threat.
The Hoops have been really poor on the continental stage and, aside from getting to the play-off leg against Bayern Munich last season, have failed to make any sort of impact.
Now that they look certain to crash out of the Europa League too, it could have a damaging effect in the long run.
Should the Celtic board take responsibility for the SPFL losing a Champions League spot?
Tell us if you agree or disagree
How many European spots will the SPFL have after the update?
Because of the teams who have underperformed in Europe, Scotland is set to have its number of European places reduced from five to four.
This means that only the league winners will be guaranteed a Champions League place, but that will have to come via the qualifiers.
| League position | European spot as of the 2026/27 season |
|---|---|
| 1st place | Champions League second qualifying round |
| 2nd place | Conference League second qualifying round |
| Scottish Cup winners | Europa League first qualifying round |
| 3rd place | Conference League second qualifying round |
| 4th place | N/A |
As it stands, the SPFL are 18th in the coefficient rankings and only the top 15 divisions are awarded two Champions League spots.
Things will get even worse as they will have to start from the second qualifying round while also missing out financially too.
Celtic will have no room for error going forward
If the Celtic board truly believe that the club are world class operators, this is another sign that they have failed to deliver on that verdict.
Losing the luxury of two Champions League spots, as well as the automatic route into the league phase makes the stakes even higher.
Celtic fans would you rather: Win the Europa League but miss out on the league title?
Or… get knocked out of the Europa League and win the title?
Not coming first is unacceptable anyway but the financial reward that the Champions League offers has become so much bigger.
This isn’t just about winning the league anymore, this is about trying to win back what is being taken away.
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