EUROPA League
LIKE CURRENT COVID-19, HOW AN ICELANDIC VOLCANO CAUSED CHAOS AROUND THE WORLD OF SPORTS
Despite being a relatively small volcano, the ash cloud created by Eyjafjallajokull’s eruption caused the highest level of disruption to air travel since World War II.
From April 14, the volcano produced an estimated 250 million cubic metres of ash and small debris, which rose to a height of around 9km.
What turned a local problem into an international crisis, however, was that the volcano was situated directly under the jet stream, which was unusually stable at the time and blowing steadily south-easterly, pushing the ash cloud straight towards mainland Europe.
The initial human impact was felt in Iceland, with hundreds living near to the eruption site evacuated and farmland and livestock severely affected by ash.
But the main effects were felt in the aviation industry. As well as concerns over poor visibility, the glass-rich nature of the ash cloud, caused by a reaction between melting ice and lava, was potentially particularly damaging for aircraft engines, and there were widespread fears of crashes.
Huge amounts of European airspace was consequently shut down, with countries ranging from Belarus to Turkey, Finland and Ukraine all affected.
An estimated 10 million passengers were stranded, not only in Europe but around the world.
After an initial shutdown across northern Europe in April, there were further shutdowns in May affecting the UK, Ireland, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Austria and Germany.
The cost to the airline industry caused by 95,000 grounded flights was estimated to be £130million per day, with a total loss of around £1.1billion.
TUI reported losses of £5-6m per day during the airspace closure, while 13 other travel firms went bust.
Other areas of the economy hit by disruption to supply chains included the pharmaceutical and car-making industries. BMW, Nissan and Honda all suspended production on some models, while Asian electronics producers such as Samsung were unable to export large amounts of goods.
The Kenyan flower industry also lost millions per day, with a reported 400 tonnes of flowers destroyed as they were unable to be airshipped into the UK.
The ban on flights in the UK disrupted the general election campaign trail. Former Prime Minister Tony Blair was among those affected, as he was stranded in Israel during his campaign tour.
Meanwhile, Prince Charles, Barack Obama, Angela Merkel, Nicolas Sarkozy and others were forced to miss the funeral of Polish president Lech Kaczynski, who had died in a plane crash.
The comedian and actor John Cleese was reported to have spent roughly £3,300 on a taxi journey from Oslo to Brussels after a flight was cancelled. His 900-mile journey lasted around 15 hours, and passed through Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium.
Sir David Attenborough and his crew, who had reached the North Pole to film the upcoming BBC nature series The Frozen Planet, were temporarily stranded in the Norwegian Arctic territory of Svalbard.
–Daily Mail
Four-times Europa League winner Unai Emery booked an astonishing sixth final in the competition as a manager on Thursday when his Aston Villa team swept aside Nottingham Forest in the second leg of their all-English semi-final.
The 54-year-old Spaniard has won three times with Sevilla (2014, 2015, 2016) and once with Villarreal (2021) – either side of a defeat with Arsenal (2019) – deservedly earning him the epithet “Mr Europa League” from some fans and media.
Now he goes to the 2026 final seeking a fifth title, this time with Aston Villa against Bundesliga side Freiburg.
“His track record speaks for itself,” said Villa striker Ollie Watkins, heaping praise on his boss as the man to guarantee Europa League success. “We need to go and win it now.”
Emery was delighted with how his team overturned a 1-0 deficit to Forest in the first leg of the Europa League semi-final to score four times at home and win 4-1 on aggregate.
“Now we have to look to the final,” he said, hoping that Villa will do “something fantastic” for their fans.
Though thrilled at Thursday’s win, Emery left the pitch quickly after the final whistle, pumping his fist a few times at the crowd before letting his players enjoy the moment with fans
He and his Villa side will be favourites at the Europa League final in Istanbul on May 20, but Emery was taking nothing for granted. “Of course German teams are so difficult, their coaches, their players are so good,” he added of the upcoming opponents.
-Reuters
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List of teams which have qualified for the next round of the Europa League after the league phase concluded on Thursday, ranked by table position:
Directly to the round of 16:
1. Olympique Lyonnais (France)
2. Aston Villa (England)
3. Midtjylland (Denmark)
4. Real Betis (Spain)
5. Porto (Portugal)
6. Braga (Portugal)
7. Freiburg (Germany)
8. AS Roma (Italy)
Knockout phase play-off places (seeded)
9. Genk (Belgium)
10. Bologna (Italy)
11. VfB Stuttgart (Germany)
12. Ferencvaros (Hungary)
13. Nottingham Forest (England)
14. Viktoria Plzen (Czech Republic)
15. Red Star Belgrade (Serbia)
16. Celta Vigo (Spain)
Knockout phase play-off places (unseeded)
17. PAOK (Greece)
18. Lille (France)
19. Fenerbahce (Turkey)
20. Panathinaikos (Greece)
21. Celtic (Scotland)
22. Ludogorets (Bulgaria)
23. Dinamo Zagreb (Croatia)
24. SK Brann (Norway)
-Reuters
UEFA Europa League – Aston Villa v RB Salzburg – Villa Park, Birmingham, Britain – January 29, 2026 Aston
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Israeli club Maccabi Tel Aviv will not accept any away fan tickets for their Europa League match at Aston Villa next month, even if local authorities reverse the decision to ban their supporters, they said on Monday.
The ban followed safety concerns raised by British Police, who cited potential protests outside Villa Park, following demonstrations at Israel’s recent World Cup qualifiers in Oslo and Udine.
“From hard lessons learned we have taken the decision to decline any allocation offered on behalf of away fans and our decision should be understood in that context,” Maccabi said in a statement.
“We hope that circumstances will change and look forward to being able to play in Birmingham in a sporting environment in the near future.”
Aston Villa announced the decision last week, saying they were following instructions from the Safety Advisory Group (SAG), who are responsible for issuing safety certificates for games at Villa Park.
West Midlands Police described the match as high risk, past incidents, including violent confrontations and hate crime offences involving Ajax and Maccabi Tel Aviv supporters ahead of a November 2024 game in Amsterdam.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar described the announcement as “shameful”.
Villa are third in the Europa League standings while Maccabi Tel Aviv are 30th after two rounds.
-Reuters
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