League of Ireland in Europe 2016

**SkStu** · 20/06/2016, 6:36 PM

ugh. Iceland.

Good luck to all the teams (except Rovers). Looks like all our teams have a really good chance of progressing.

**Mark** · 20/06/2016, 6:48 PM

Originally Posted by DannyInvincible

Good draws all round.

Saw this summary on RT� earlier:

Thought it summed up what is wrong with the Irish media and public's view of the LOI and football in Ireland generally. Dundalk will be wanting to progress for the long-term benefits that that can offer. I doubt anyone at the club will be losing any sleep over the fact they "missed out" (as if that's what anyone was hoping for in the first place) on a so-called "glamour tie" against Celtic. Unbelievable to see RT� reporting the draw almost as if it were bad news. It's a great draw for Dundalk and gives the club a real chance.

Couldn't believe it when I saw that earlier. Very negative. I've spoken to a lot of Dundalk people this season, within the club and fans around town, and all the talk was of getting a winnable tie, progression, and at worst dropping into the Europa League play off round. Not one person mentioned Celtic to me. I personally thought referring to Dundalk there (or any our clubs for that matter) as a League of Ireland 'outfit' was offensive.

**oriel** · 20/06/2016, 10:17 PM

Originally Posted by pineapple stu

More than just a chance of winning the tie - beat FH and they get two shots at reaching a group stage. Win CL round 3 and at worst they're straight into the Europa League group stages; lose it and they're into the EL play-off round.

�2.4m now for getting to the Europa League group stages, plus �120k per point. Even the chance of that is surely worth more than a "glamour" tie against Celtic.

I think Dundalk pick up �550k for round 2 and that might rise to �1.1m in prize money alone should we beat FH. It's serious money, but these guys will be no mugs, going to be difficult but hopefully not as big a hurdle as BATE proved in the end last season.

**gufcfan** · 20/06/2016, 11:54 PM

Maybe should talk about how they're going to beat the Icelandic champions first

**Fester** · 21/06/2016, 8:15 AM

Good draw all round. Lets hope we get a lot of progression!

**White Horse** · 21/06/2016, 8:54 AM

Originally Posted by oriel

I think Dundalk pick up €550k for round 2 and that might rise to €1.1m in prize money alone should we beat FH. It's serious money, but these guys will be no mugs, going to be difficult but hopefully not as big a hurdle as BATE proved in the end last season.

The league's low seeding makes it very difficult to progress in the Champions League. We wanted a draw that is competitive. We got that.

Now for part that is our responsibility, winning the tie.

I was talking to a few of the players in the gym last night and they are buzzing for the opportunity.

**DannyInvincible** · 21/06/2016, 3:52 PM

Originally Posted by Mark

Couldn't believe it when I saw that earlier. Very negative. I've spoken to a lot of Dundalk people this season, within the club and fans around town, and all the talk was of getting a winnable tie, progression, and at worst dropping into the Europa League play off round. Not one person mentioned Celtic to me. I personally thought referring to Dundalk there (or any our clubs for that matter) as a League of Ireland 'outfit' was offensive.

I've been informed that the summary actually first said that Dundalk had "missed out" on a "dream tie", so the later mention of a "glamour tie" was actually an attempted improvement. Good lord. Presumably someone realised what a silly message it conveyed, but it's not as if the amendment was any less daft.

**nigel-harps1954** · 21/06/2016, 4:40 PM

St Pats away game against Jeunesse Esch is now on Tuesday 5th July instead of Thursday 7th.

**D24Saint** · 21/06/2016, 5:14 PM

Got bent over by UEFA , they gave official confirmation last night then changed the fixture anyway. It's cost the club a right few quid & it's cost me a right few quid on lost flights & extra nights away.

**White Horse** · 22/06/2016, 8:25 AM

Originally Posted by D24Saint

Got bent over by UEFA , they gave official confirmation last night then changed the fixture anyway. It's cost the club a right few quid & it's cost me a right few quid on lost flights & extra nights away.

They should compensate anyone who is out of pocket. They did give official confirmation afterall. People didn't jump the gun.

**seand** · 22/06/2016, 9:24 AM

Luxembourg, Iceland and Estonia (in particular) are problematic for UEFA in the early rounds as most of the clubs are bunched together in a small area and often sharing a couple of stadiums that are up to Euro standard. When Dundalk played Jeunesse we got bumped from Thursday to Tuesday at less than a week's notice. Who fecked up with Pats? Did Pats jump the gun or did UEFA change their mind after confirming dates?

**nigel-harps1954** · 22/06/2016, 9:24 AM

Pat's said themselves on the afternoon of the draw "We're drawn at home but first but all dates etc to be confirmed".

I haven't seen 'official confirmation' of a Thursday game anywhere announced by Pat's. If anyone went ahead and booked flights off the back of the draw itself then they've nobody to blame but themselves. Jeunesse Esch played their European games against Dundalk on Tuesday nights too.

**El-Pietro** · 22/06/2016, 9:40 AM

Same thing happened Rovers last year as well right?

**Mark** · 22/06/2016, 9:42 AM

The three home Europa League dates and kick off times are now official.. because the FAI have said so. :-)

The three SSE Airtricity League clubs competing in the UEFA Europa League have confirmed the dates and times of their home ties.

St. Patrick's Athletic will welcome Luxembourgian side AS Jeunesse Esch to Inchicore on Tuesday, June 28th with kick-off at 7.45pm for the first leg.

Shamrock Rovers welcome Finnish side ROPS Rovaniemi to the Tallaght Stadium on Thursday, June 30th with kick-off at 8pm for the first leg.

Cork City host Northern Irish side Linfield at Turner's Cross on Thursday, July 7th and will also kick-off at 7.45 pm for the second leg.

The away ties will be confirmed by UEFA in due course.

**pineapple stu** · 22/06/2016, 9:47 AM

Originally Posted by El-Pietro

Same thing happened Rovers last year as well right?

Yes, their game was brought forward, though within hours of the draw.

I know we were told not to book anything until around 6pm on the day, once everything had been confirmed.

**sadloserkid** · 22/06/2016, 9:57 AM

Originally Posted by Mark

The three SSE Airtricity League clubs competing in the UEFA Europa League have confirmed the dates and times of their home ties.

St. Patrick's Athletic will welcome Luxembourgian side AS Jeunesse Esch to Inchicore on Tuesday, June 28th with kick-off at 7.45pm for the first leg.

Shamrock Rovers welcome Finnish side ROPS Rovaniemi to the Tallaght Stadium on Thursday, June 30th with kick-off at 8pm for the first leg.

Cork City host Northern Irish side Linfield at Turner's Cross on Thursday, July 7th and will also kick-off at 7.45 pm for the second leg.

The away ties will be confirmed by UEFA in due course.

I like that Rovers and Pats are going to welcome their visitors while Cork will merely host theirs.

**D24Saint** · 22/06/2016, 10:30 AM

Club got confirmation from UEFA on Monday then they changed the fixture anyway on Tuesday morning.

**Bawnville Hoop** · 22/06/2016, 10:40 AM

Originally Posted by D24Saint

Club got confirmation from UEFA on Monday then they changed the fixture anyway on Tuesday morning.

Always good to keep in mind for the future that the club who achieved the final Europa spot in their league loses preference over the others.

**nigel-harps1954** · 22/06/2016, 10:55 AM

Originally Posted by D24Saint

Club got confirmation from UEFA on Monday then they changed the fixture anyway on Tuesday morning.

But was that made public? I haven't seen it published anywhere. It seems to me that people just presumed that the game would be on the Thursday and booked flights and accomodation before everything was confirmed on all ends.

**Mark** · 22/06/2016, 11:14 AM

This is Pat's statement from yesterday:
Due to circumstances beyond our control we regret to announce that UEFA have rescheduled the away leg of our upcoming UEFA Europa League game versus AS Jeunesse Esch to Tuesday the 5th of July.

We have been in touch with the FAI who have put in an appeal on our behalf to UEFA on the basis that we had already received official communication with confirmation of the away leg to take place on the 7th July, and that both the club and supporters would have made commitments on that basis.

Unfortunately, UEFA have today insisted that the date be changed to Tuesday 5th July. We regret this late change and will be raising the matter at a future date with UEFA as all communications, both verbal and official written confirmation of draw clearly state that the match was due to take place on the 7th July.

We are aware that some supporters may have already booked flights and accommodation and will be inconvenienced, and we regret this as the Club took the precaution of not releasing dates until official written communication was received from UEFA.

Once again we apologise for any inconvenience caused to our supporters, but unfortunately this late change was imposed on us beyond our control.

We would advise fans who have made arrangements to contact their flight operators to try to cancel/amend their flights as soon as possible.