Motherwell earn European spot

McGhee: Europa League place

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Motherwell will play in next season's Europa League after being awarded a Fair Play place by the Scottish Football Association.

Uefa confirmed earlier this month that a sixth European spot would go to Scotland after they were ranked in the top three countries for Fair Play.

Motherwell were told they had the best disciplinary record of the sides not already assured of qualifying for the UEFA Champions League or the Europa League.

And Mark McGhee's men have held on to their advantage ahead of Hibernian and St Mirren.

The SFA takes into account a range of criteria, including yellow and red cards, crowd behaviour, the actions of club officials and match reports by SPL delegates.

Motherwell, who lost their final game of the season 2-1 to Kilmarnock, finished seventh in the SPL table.

But they will now enter the first qualifying round of the Europa League at the start of July.

Hearts, Aberdeen and Scottish Cup finalists Falkirk will also take part in the newly revamped competition.

Congratulations

SFA chief executive Gordon Smith said: "My congratulations go to Motherwell and I wish them all the best for their European adventure next season.

"Getting into Europe shows what can be achieved when the game is played in the right manner.

"It is a lesson to everyone who plays the game and the whole country can be proud of this achievement.

"It is now down to all six of our teams who play in Europe next season to do well and to keep on pushing our co-efficient in the right direction.

"We can all look forward to the year ahead with a real sense of excitement."