# Two issues of the UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying play-offs

## TL;DR

This paper critically examines UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying play-offs, revealing regulatory contradictions that can lead to unfair matchups, and proposes simple solutions to address these issues.

## Contribution

It identifies contradictions in UEFA regulations governing the play-offs and suggests straightforward solutions to ensure fairness in the tournament structure.

## Key findings

- Regulatory articles contradict each other.
- Possible unfair matchups between group winners and non-winners.
- Proposed solutions improve fairness in play-off formation.

## Abstract

The play-offs of the UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying tournament determine the last four participants in the UEFA European Championship 2020. 16 teams, which have failed to obtain a slot in the qualifying group stage, will be selected and divided into four paths of four teams each based on the inaugural season 2018-19 of the UEFA Nations League. We provide a critical examination of the relevant UEFA regulation and show that its articles contradict each other and allow for an unfair formation of the play-off paths: it might happen that all conditions cannot be satisfied simultaneously and a group winner might face stronger opponents than a non-group winner from the same league despite its better performance in the UEFA Nations League. Simple and straightforward solutions for both problems are suggested.