Russia ban: How Rangers, Celtic and Scottish football could be affected by UEFA competition suspension of clubs and teams

Scotland would be guaranteed a group stage place in next season’s Champions League if UEFA’s ban on all Russian clubs and teams continues.

European football’s governing body was one of many to react to the country’s invasion of Ukraine and kicked Spartak Moscow out of the Europa League last 16.

If the ban continues, the cinch Premiership champions’ widely anticipated direct-entry would be confirmed with a domino effect on other European qualifiers too.

We told last week how an unlikely, but not impossible, scenario could force the SPFL’s best into the qualifiers despite the widely held assumption of direct entry and a £40m windfall for the league champions.

However the moves against Russia and the country’s athletes from across the world of sport since, has now changed the landscape.

If the ban remains in place Scotland would move up one position in UEFA’s access list and the SPFL champions would be given a group-stage spot and the runners-up would enter in the third qualifying round – 360-minutes of football away from the groups themselves.

There would be no entry changes to Europa League qualification via the Scottish Cup, but with one less Russian side in the competition and two less in the early stages of the Conference League, chances of progress would be enhanced for the likes of third-placed Hearts and other Scottish entrants.

In total, an upheld ban would remove two clubs from next season’s UCL, the Russian Cup winners’ place in the Europa League and the third and fourth-placed teams from the conference league.