Tottenham and Man Utd Champions League qualification controversy explained in UEFA rules verdict

And so the most meme'd Europa League final of all time really is on the cards. There have been many barriers on the way but both Tottenham and Manchester United look likely to meet in Bilbao at the end of the month.

The two Premier League embarrassments, who have been the best recent examples of systemic woeful inefficiency and incompetence, are 90 minutes from a head-to-head shootout with rewards greater than the Europa League trophy itself. The winner and United hold on to their own 3-0 advantage at home against a now-bruised Athletic Club side, will be in next season's Champions League. Somehow.

For Tottenham, Ange Postecoglou has insisted that despite historic lows in the Premier League for almost all of this campaign, lifting the Europa League would constitute success. The extent to which this is true - and whether or not it should, could, or would save his job - is another conversation entirely.

What is clear now,, is Tottenham are two games away from being in the Champions League despite being on course to finish one place above the relegation zone. There is a lot of Wigan 2013 about this - when they won the FA Cup but got relegated - except Roberto Martinez did not have a squad consisting of hundreds of millions of pounds worth of players or the commercial revenue of a small country.

Qualification for the Champions League - - is the only thing that has kept many of a Spurs association going this season. The midweek jeopardy has mattered, whereby domestic hopes disappeared long ago.

Such is this, Tottenham have won more times in Europe in 2025 than they have in the Premier League. Add in their Carabao Cup semi-final first leg victory over Liverpool and it is 5-5 between Europa League and domestic competitions. It's damning and unacceptable regardless of injuries

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Having not won a trophy since 2008, even the most ardent Postecoglou Out fans would have trouble caring that much in the moment as other ghosts are banished.

But there is a deeper question here. Tottenham ended up fifth last season and had to make do with the Europa League, a tough one to take after being top 10 games in. They have drowned ever since with form continuing to nose dive and actually get worse since November 2023.

Granted the chance to get into the Champions League via an extra place this season, They have lost four of their last five games and 19 all season. They do have a positive goal difference, one that is 25 better than West Ham in 17th and 13 ahead of Everton, one spot above them. Brentford (+8) are the next best and sit 11th. Tottenham's goal difference is more than Brighton (ninth), Fulham (eighth), and Aston Villa (sixth).

They are safe from relegation because of the horrendous quality of the promoted teams. Is this the sort of team that deserves to be in the Champions League?

The same can be said for United, who have spent far more than Tottenham and exhibited even greater levels of ineptitude over a much longer period of time. They sacked Erik ten Hag in October and got worse. United have actually dragged themselves through the Europa League whereas Tottenham have mostly been solid enough, save for the away defeat to AZ Alkmaar.

These two financial behemoths are exceptions in the Europa League even with plenty of established clubs - Porto, Fenerbahce, Roma, Real Sociedad, and Ajax among others - also competing. Their pathway to what looks like a final is not a grand victory.

but the fact it would come in such a torrid season for both teams means it is still to be looked at with a sense of shame. How did it ever come to this? Prioritising the second-rate European competition because Premier League safety was assured. This isn't against the odds stuff, it is making a mockery of them in a bad way and then getting to the end point in spite of logic. Just because two teams finding themselves at the bottom of their league are this close to a final is not a heroic story but a damning one. It should be a time for reflection.

Both fanbases have every right to enjoy the moment and to revel in reaching Bilbao as and when (rather than if) it happens. They have had to put up with mountains of unacceptable performances throughout this forgettable year. They have been treated poorly and unrest is fully justified.

In a way, they will feel that their loyalty has earned this end-of-season chance in a manner that the team has not. But still, it is not a surprise to see conversations across the continent turning.

Giant names like Tottenham and Manchester United or not, the teams 14th and 16th in the Premier League could have a place in the Champions League. Is this really what the rules are made for?

Some will argue that having won a trophy to qualify, would one of these two not be more of a champion - especially in the knockout definition - than, say, Arsenal in second in the Premier League? Certainly, when fifth qualifies, does the actual winner of another competition not warrant a spot at the top table rather than the Premier League's third or fourth best team after a dog-fight and scramble to not be the worst in a mini-league? The current landscape allows for both, it is just not often that those struggling so much in one competition can win another like this.

That is certainly a strong argument. Tottenham, after all, have fallen foul to being pushed down the European ladder before. They finished fourth in 2012 only to find themselves in the Europa League when Chelsea (sixth that season) won the Champions League and took the place of their London rivals.

UEFA rightly changed the rule after this. Such is the competitiveness of the league now and the expanded format, there was a way that seven Premier League teams could be in the Champions League next season with nine in Europe if all domestic cup permutations and league finish demands were met.

That is ridiculous, even if it was never going to happen. Surely, in this debate, a team like has done more to get a place than those essentially lucking out due to extraordinary circumstances? Or does league finish hold more weight as it is over 38 games rather than 15 (or 17/19 depending on play-offs and qualifying rounds)? Maybe this is just sport and the rough needs to be taken with the smooth.

Regardless of domestic form, which cannot be taken into account by UEFA, and rightly so - what a can of worms that would open up - Tottenham and United have had a way to enter the Champions League through the back door and they are on the verge of entering it. By hook or by crook, that is how this works.

It was the case at the start of the season when they would have hoped for a top four/five fight themselves and was also true last year when they were in the mix. It has been the case for a while now and legislation is not going to change just because two teams have collapsed in the Premier League. It would be unfair to add in extra parameters which say 'Europa League winners will not go into the Champions League unless they finish 10th or above in their domestic league.'

Tottenham and United are fortunate to have this route and many will understandably say they do not deserve it based on other factors. That may well be true but it does not change the reality. The records will (second leg shock notwithstanding) show that one of the two worst Premier League sides are in the Champions League next season.

It is set to be the final people wanted, just to see how chaotic things get and what the aftermath of losing will be for one side. The other will come out as a survivor just as much as the victor. It is a tantalising prospect and one we may not see like this again.

Why the Premier League must act if Spurs reach the Europa League final - to listen to the latest episode of Gold & Guest Talk Tottenham