Matches may also be played on Tuesdays or Wednesdays instead of the regular Thursdays due to scheduling conflicts.
Format
In the play-off round, each tie was played over two legs, with each team playing one leg at home. The team that scored more goals on aggregate over the two legs advanced to the next round. If the aggregate score was level, the away goals rule was applied, i.e., the team that scored more goals away from home over the two legs advanced. If away goals were also equal, then thirty minutes of extra time was played. The away goals rule was again applied after extra time, i.e., if there were goals scored during extra time and the aggregate score was still level, the visiting team advanced by virtue of more away goals scored. If no goals were scored during extra time, the tie was decided by penalty shoot-out.[1]
Teams were seeded based on their UEFA club coefficients at the beginning of the season, with the teams divided into seeded and unseeded pots. A seeded team was drawn against an unseeded team, with the order of legs in each tie decided randomly. Prior to the draws, UEFA may form "groups" in accordance with the principles set by the Club Competitions Committee, but they were purely for convenience of the draw and for ensuring that teams from the same association were not drawn against each other, and did not resemble any real groupings in the sense of the competition.[1]
Teams
A total of 62 teams were involved in the qualifying phase and play-off round (including 15 losers of the Champions League third qualifying round which entered the play-off round). The 31 winners of the play-off round advanced to the group stage to join the 7 automatic qualifiers and 10 losers of the Champions League play-off round.
Below were the participating teams (with their 2013 UEFA club coefficients),[4] grouped by their starting rounds.[5]
Key to colours
Winners of the play-off round (and lucky losers) advanced to the group stage
* On 25 June 2013, Fenerbahçe were banned by UEFA from the 2013–14 UEFA club competitions because of the 2011 Turkish sports corruption scandal.[6][7] They appealed the ban to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, and on 18 July 2013 it was ruled that the ban should be temporarily lifted and they should be included in the qualifying round draws of the Champions League, until the final decision to be made before the end of August 2013.[8][9][10] Fenerbahçe competed in the Champions League qualifying rounds and lost in the play-off round. On 28 August 2013, the Court of Arbitration for Sport upheld UEFA's ban, meaning Fenerbahçe were banned from the 2013–14 UEFA Europa League.[11][12] A draw was held on 30 August 2013, 09:00, in Monaco, to select a team to replace Fenerbahçe in the Europa League group stage among the teams eliminated in the play-off round,[13] and was won by APOEL.[14]
** On 25 June 2013, Beşiktaş were banned by UEFA from the 2013–14 UEFA club competitions because of the 2011 Turkish sports corruption scandal.[6][7] They appealed the ban to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, and on 18 July 2013 it was ruled that the ban should be temporarily lifted and they should be included in the qualifying round draws of the Europa League, until the final decision to be made before the end of August 2013.[8] Beşiktaş competed in the Europa League play-off round and won. On 30 August 2013, the Court of Arbitration for Sport upheld UEFA's ban, meaning Beşiktaş were banned from the 2013–14 UEFA Europa League.[15] UEFA decided to replace Beşiktaş in the Europa League group stage with Tromsø, who were eliminated by Beşiktaş in the play-off round.[16]
*** On 14 August 2013, Metalist Kharkiv were disqualified from the 2013–14 UEFA club competitions because of previous match-fixing.[17] UEFA decided to replace Metalist Kharkiv in the Champions League play-off round with PAOK, who were eliminated by Metalist Kharkiv in the third qualifying round.[18] Thus, Maccabi Tel Aviv, the opponent of PAOK in the Europa League play-off round, qualified directly for the Europa League group stage. PAOK also qualified for the Europa League group stage after losing in the Champions League play-off round.
Seeding
A total of 62 teams played in the play-off round:[19] 18 teams which entered in this round, the 29 winners of the third qualifying round, and the 15 losers of the Champions League third qualifying round. The draw was held on 9 August 2013.[20]
On 14 August 2013, Metalist Kharkiv were disqualified from all 2013–14 UEFA club competitions because of previous match-fixing.[17] UEFA decided to replace Metalist Kharkiv in the Champions League play-off round with PAOK, who were eliminated by Metalist Kharkiv in the third qualifying round of the Champions League.[18] PAOK therefore vacated their place in the Europa League, and Maccabi Tel Aviv, the opponent drawn against PAOK in the Europa League play-off round, qualified directly for the Europa League group stage.
3–3 on aggregate. AZ won on away goals. The match was abandoned after 59 minutes due to a fire at the stadium, and was resumed on 30 August 2013, 11:00, from the point of abandonment.
^The Dynamo Kyiv v Aktobe match was played behind closed doors due to the punishment handed to Dynamo Kyiv by UEFA following racist behaviour during 2012–13 games against Paris Saint-Germain and Bordeaux.[57]
Note: Between the 1999–2000 and 2008–09 seasons, the competition was still known as the UEFA Cup. All seasons are included following the competition's absorption of the Cup Winners' Cup.
