Champions League
Before the 2021/22 season began, Russia sat eighth in UEFA’s coefficient rankings, a position that determines how many clubs from a country may enter European competitions and at what stage they start. When Russia was later excluded, the freed quota moved to the eleventh position on the list, which is Scotland. As a result, Zenit St. Petersburg, the winner of the Russian Premier League, and the champions of Scotland earned seats in the Champions League group stage.
With three rounds remaining in the Russian Premier League, Celtic led Glasgow Rangers by six points in the title race. In Turkey, Trabzonspor emerged as the strongest club in the country for the first time in 38 years and will step into the Champions League playoff round as the Scottish champions were displaced.
Consequently, in the third qualifying round of the champions’ path, Trabzonspor will give way to the champion of Cyprus, with Apollon narrowly leading APOEL by a single point and ahead of the field three rounds from the finish. The Croatian champions, Dinamo Zagreb, who hold the top spot with three rounds left, and Swiss side Zürich will also bypass the first round of qualifying, entering the competition in the second round instead.
The second league slot for Russia accrued to the runner-up in the Russian Premier League, which began its European campaign in the third qualifying round of the non-champions path. As the selection progressed, Russia’s representative would be replaced by the clubs that finished second in Austria and Scotland; under the previous format, these teams would have begun in the second qualifying round rather than the third.
Teams eliminated in the third qualifying round and in the qualifying round join the Europa League group stage schedule.
Europa League
In this tournament, the national cup winner from Russia began participation in the playoff round. Last season, Moscow’s Lokomotiv Moscow secured a direct route to the group stage due to a reform that now guarantees the Conference League winner a spot in the Europa League group stage; however, this tournament had not yet begun in the 2020/21 season, so vacancies were allocated to the Railways team.
For the 2022/23 season, Turkey and Denmark were slated to take the Russian slots in the Europa League playoff round. The Serbian Cup winner, initially expected to start from the second qualifying round of the Conference League, took the place of a Russian participant in the Europa League third qualifying round.
Teams that do not advance through the Europa League qualifiers would compete in the Conference League group stage.
Conference League
Two Russian clubs were represented in this competition by virtue of their finish in the domestic league: the fourth-placed team began in the third qualifying round and the fifth-placed team started in the second round. After Russia’s suspension, the next round would be taken by the Cup winners from the Czech Republic, Croatia, and Switzerland, who were slated to begin from the second round.
In the second phase of the Conference League qualifiers, the holders of cups in Poland, Slovenia, Slovakia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Ireland, North Macedonia, and Armenia would compete instead of the Russian entrants, alongside the cup holders from Serbia, the Czech Republic, Croatia, and Switzerland. Cup winners from these nations were originally required to start from the first qualifying round in the Conference League before the suspension affected Russia’s participation.
What will happen in the 2023/24 season?
For the 2022/23 season, Russia earned 4,333 points in UEFA’s coefficient table, the lowest total in the past five seasons. If Russian teams are able to participate again next year, the country would begin the 2023/24 season with 26,215 points. That figure would place the nation around 22nd in the standings today—higher than Israel but below Cyprus.
In this scenario, only four Russian clubs could qualify for European competition. The national champion would start in the first qualifying round of the Champions League, while the runners-up and third-place finishers would begin in the second qualifying round of the Conference League, corresponding to the champion’s path second stage.