FA to favour fourth bridge to Champions League

FA chiefs are expected to decide at a meeting tomorrow that the top four in the Premiership should qualify for the Champions League – no matter what happens to Liverpool at next month’s final in Istanbul.

Liverpool will then have to rely solely on a change of rules by UEFA should they win the final but finish out of the top four in the Premiership.

The FA’s professional game board are meeting tomorrow to decide their position if Liverpool are crowned European champions.

It is understood that the majority of the six-man board strongly favour awarding qualification to the side who finish fourth in the league – even if it means the Champions League holders not qualifying for Europe’s elite club competition next season.

The Premier League will resist any attempt to remove the Champions League reward from the side that finishes fourth – Everton are in pole position – and most of the six chairmen are believed to hold similar views.

They are Dave Richards (Premier League), David Dein (Arsenal vice-chairman), Rupert Lowe (Southampton), Phil Gartside (Bolton), David Sheepshanks (Ipswich) and Peter Heard (Colchester).

Their decision will need to be approved by the full FA board but, given that the six are also members of that body, that will merely be a rubber-stamping exercise.

Meanwhile, the FA will continue to lobby UEFA for a fifth place for English clubs.

The position of European football’s governing body has shifted slightly but importantly in favour of Liverpool this week following an intervention from president Lennart Johansson.

Although their regulations stipulate that a maximum of four sides from any one country can take part in Europe’s elite club competition, Johansson has made it clear UEFA’s executive committee do have the power to overrule and enforce any changes.

However, they will not take any action until after the final itself and should Liverpool win that, a decision would be made at the next executive committee meeting on June 17.