Huge Celtic and Rangers coefficient blow as Scottish champions lose automatic Champions League spot

Scotland drop down UEFA rankings as Czech Republic move up

The Scottish Premiership champions will no longer receive automatic qualification for the Champions League group stages from next season.

In a major blow to both Celtic and Rangers, Scotland has been leapfrogged by the Czech Republic in the coefficient rankings following a result in the Europa Conference League quarter-finals on Thursday.

A goalless draw earned by Viktoria Plzen away to Fiorentina has lifted the Czechs above Scotland into 10th place in the UEFA rankings, taking away the guaranteed place that the Scottish title winners have enjoyed over the past three seasons.

Champions League branding at Celtic Park prior to a group stage match against Feyenoord in December. (Photo by Rob Casey / SNS Group)

The prize of Champions League group stage football remains on offer for the Scottish champions this season with either Celtic or Rangers guaranteed to compete in the newly-revamped competition next season. However, that will not be the case for the 2024-25 title winners, who will have to negotiate a play-off round against a champion from outside the top 10 leagues in order to compete in the 2025-26 Champions League group stages.

That is certainly the case for Celtic, however, it is likely Rangers would sneak into the 2025-26 Champions League group stages through the back door based on their individual club coefficient if Philippe Clement’s side win the title next season. As long as they are the league champion with the highest individual coefficient in the qualifying rounds, and the Champions League winners have already qualified via their own domestic league, then Rangers would be granted a place in the group stages.

The rankings are calculated over a five-year average with teams awarded two points for a win, one point for a draw, with the country coefficient determined by the collective number of teams entered into European competition at the start of the season.

With all five Scottish sides eliminated – Rangers were the last ones standing before exiting the Europa League last 16 following defeat to Benfica – Plzen had to lose both legs against the Italians to prevent the Premiership losing its spot.

Scotland are poised to slip even further down the rankings next season as the 2019-20 campaign, which saw the Premiership earn 9.75 points as both Rangers and Celtic made it through to the Europa League knock-out stages, drops off the calculations.

The five clubs who qualify for Europe from the Scottish top flight this season will need to perform well next term to maintain or improve Scotland’s ranking.