Three clubs benefit from Karvina's punishment - Viktoria Plzen moves up to the playoff round of the Europa League, their spot in the second qualifying round goes to Hradec Kralove, who finished fourth in the last league season, and the fifth-placed team, Jablonec, have slipped into the open spot in the Conference League.
The FACR Ethics Committee excluded the Silesian club from the top league in mid-June due to an attempt to influence three matches two years ago. Karvina then withdrew their appeal against the punishment a few days ago, so in the upcoming season they will only play in the second division.
At the time, the League Football Association announced that this step would help preserve the standing of Czech clubs in Europe and protect the national coefficient. Now, UEFA have officially confirmed this scenario.
The international federation made the adjustment only after the draw for the second qualifying rounds, so the participating teams will unexpectedly swap opponents just three weeks before the competitions begin.
"The UEFA Appeals Body has decided to declare the club MFK Karvina ineligible to participate in the UEFA Europa League 2026/27 due to failure to meet the admission criteria, i.e., due to direct or indirect involvement in activities aimed at arranging or influencing match results at the national level," UEFA explained the decision on Thursday. The organization's emergency panel then confirmed the expected reshuffle and redistributed the participation spots.
Viktoria Plzen will take the spot originally reserved for the domestic cup winner and will enter in the playoff round of the Europa League. The West Bohemians will find out their opponent during the draw on 3 August.
This guarantees them at least a place in the league phase of the Conference League and makes them the third Czech team certain to play in the main stage of European competitions. The domestic champion Slavia Praha will go straight into the main stage of the Champions League, while Sparta Praha will enter in the third qualifying round.
The spot in the second qualifying round of the Europa League previously held by Plzen is taken over by Hradec Kralove. The East Bohemian side will face Norwegian team Tromso, with the first leg taking place on 23 July at the opponent's stadium.
The vacant spot after Hradec in the second qualifying round of the Conference League has gone to the defeated finalist of the domestic cup, Jablonec, who originally did not qualify for European competitions at all. The North Bohemian team will face Croatian side Varazdin and, like Hradec, will start their European campaign away from home.
Karvina are not the first Czech club to be excluded from European competitions. In 2012, UEFA's appeals committee banned Sigma Olomouc from the Europa League due to their involvement in a corruption scandal with Bohemians Praha Strizkov.