Lens and Danes get Fair Play bonus

RC Lens and an additional team from the Danish Superliga have earned places in next season's UEFA Cup after a draw was held to decide the destiny of the remaining two berths set aside for UEFA Fair Play winners.

Lens rejoice
The French side discovered their destiny as the draw was held tonight in Fribourg before the UEFA European Under-21 Championship game between Switzerland and Russia. They will be joined in the competition by a Danish side, although which team it will be will remain unknown until the end of the Superliga season on 22 June.

Nine candidates
The French and Danish representatives were the two names picked out at the draw which also included representatives from a further seven nations: Sweden, Finland, Russia, Poland, Switzerland, Norway and Republic of Ireland.

Luck of the draw
Manchester City FC had already received a place in the UEFA Cup by virtue of England leading the European fair play rankings with 8.202 points, but the nine other associations finishing with a coefficient above eight points received another chance to win one of two more Fair Play places in a special draw.

UEFA Fair Play
To qualify for the Fair Play rankings in the first place, an association must have been involved in at least 27 national team and European club matches. UEFA has been assessing each member association's ranking, based on the fair play performances of their international and club teams, from 28 May last year up to 31 May this year.

How it works
UEFA identifies six criteria for the evaluation of the Fair Play score - red and yellow cards, positive play, respect given to opponents, respect given to the referee, behaviour of team officials, and behaviour of the crowd. A system of points is then given for each of these, and an association coefficient is calculated on the basis of the number of matches played by teams from the association.

National results
While UEFA runs its own table, each association has its own Fair Play table for its respective clubs. Lens, who only recently emerged triumphant in the French Fair Play contest, now have the opportunity to play UEFA Cup football next season, but since the Danish competition will not be finished until the end of the season, the destiny of the final UEFA Fair Play place will remain a mystery until 22 June.