NYON, Switzerland – Fulham, Tottenham or Blackpool are likely to gain a berth in next season's Europa League after England, Norway and Sweden were giving one additional spot each because they led European soccer's fair play rankings.
Norway topped the rankings released Monday by the Union of European Football Associations, which grades a country's national and club teams' behavior over one year in European matches.
Delegates for European soccer's ruling body assess teams for yellow and red cards, positive play, respect for the opposition and match officials, plus behavior of fans and team officials.
The latest Premier League fair play rankings, through April 30, are led by Chelsea, followed by Fulham, Tottenham, Manchester United and Blackpool.
Chelsea and Manchester United are ineligible for the Europa League because they qualified for the Champions League, Europe's top club competition. Tottenham is fifth with one game left, one point ahead of Liverpool, and may get an automatic Europa League berth,
The Europa League, Europe's No. 2 club competition, is the successor to the UEFA Cup.
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