UEFA grant licences to 14 Serie A sides with Napoli picking Palermo as European venue

Six clubs in Serie A have failed to meet the standards required to be granted a European licence by UEFA, the continent’s governing body have confirmed.

After reviewing all necessary documentation that was submitted by each of the Italian top flight’s clubs, 14 have been granted the proper authorisation by UEFA’s Licensing Committee.

The six sides who did not obtain the UEFA licence for the 2018/19 season were Benevento, Cagliari, Chievo, Crotone, SPAL and Hellas Verona.

As part of the documents which must be sent to UEFA by clubs, they must indicate which venue will serve as their home stadium in the event that they gain entry to European competition.

For the second successive season, Atalanta have opted for the Mapei Stadium in Reggio Emilia, which played host to Sassuolo’s fixtures both in Serie A and during their previous Europa League run.

In addition, Napoli have also opted for Palermo’s Stadio Renzo Barbera for the ninth year in a row as their preferred destination for European competitions.

However, there is no problem for the Stadio San Paolo and it is simply a matter of applying for an exemption in order to play their fixtures at Naples, which hasn’t proven to be a problem in the past, either in the Champions League or Europa League.