Eintracht Frankfurt Chair Heribert Bruchhagen Criticizes Europa League Qualifying Format

Bundesliga Eintracht Frankfurt Chair Heribert Bruchhagen "has criticized the qualifying format of the UEFA Europa League," according to the SID. He said, "I don't want to put teams in Kazakhstan or Iceland off the Europa League, but we are, after all, the club with the highest attendance in the competition and that isn't mirrored." The top positions and therefore qualification for int'l competitions are "difficult to achieve" in the Bundesliga. However, in other parts of Europe, "provincial clubs" are able to qualify for the competition. Bruchhagen: "There are qualifying games with maybe 1,000 spectators." In comparison, Frankfurt's second-leg round of 32 match against FC Porto "has already sold out." The club will welcome 48,000 spectators on Thursday evening (SID, 2/25).