Both sides of the Old Firm are impacted by the adjustment set to take place at the start of next season.
After yet another disappointing campaign in Europe for Scottish clubs, the Premiership is set to lose one of its Champions League berths.
Currently, first place will get fast-tracked to the Champions League play-off stage, while second place also has a shot at the opportunity in the second qualification round. However, from next season onwards, this seems unlikely to be the case.
It’s been a disastrous season for Rangers on the European stage as they were first thrashed 9-1 on aggregate by Club Brugge in their Champions League decider and then went on to finish 32nd in the Europa League initial phase. Meanwhile, Celtic missed out on Champions League qualification at the hands of Kazakhstan minnows, Kairat Almaty, and barring something of a miracle, are now also out of the Europa League after their heavy 4-1 defeat against Stuttgart at home on Thursday.
How Scotland’s European berths would change
If the adjustments that are expected to happen come to fruition, it would have a negative effect on any Scottish team’s chance of Champions League qualification. The changes will perhaps add an extra incentive to the current title race, as second place would no longer get a Champions League slot and instead would enter the second qualifying round of the Conference League. This means for the first time in six years, Scotland will only have one Champions League berth.
Even the league winner is affected by the adjustments, as they would now enter the qualification campaign at round two, rather than the play-offs. If they were to win their first tie, they would be at the very minimum guaranteed Europa League participation.
Elsewhere in the league, fourth place would lose its European berth altogether as of next season. However, it will now be simpler for the Scottish Cup winners to qualify as they would enter the Europa League stage at round one, rather than three. Third place, like the runner-up, would also qualify for Conference League qualification in the second round.
Why are Scotland likely to lose a Champions League berth?
Scottish teams performing poorly on the European stage has led them to slide down the UEFA Coefficient rankings. Having been ranked as high as ninth only five years ago, they will now drop from 14th to 18th this season, with only the top 15 receiving two Champions League spots.
The financial benefits of the Champions League make it something of a Holy Grail for whoever qualifies, giving them a huge boost not just for qualification alone, but even per result. Football finance expert Kieran Maguire told BBC Sport the changes “will have significant financial consequences” for Scottish clubs.
“Celtic made more than £40m from the Champions League in 2024-25. And that’s before you take into account some of the ancillary benefits from matchday revenues, sold-out stadiums and sponsor bonuses. For every one pound you earn in the Champions League, you get approximately 22p in the Europa League and 11p in the Conference League. It is a sizeable difference, and that would be a restriction for whoever finishes second.