It is conceivable that Fenerbahce could beat Arsenal to reach the group phase and then be kicked out of the competition, raising the question as to what would happen to Arsenal in that event. Might Arsène Wenger's team be granted a reprieve? Arsenal have the highest Uefa coefficient of any club in the play-off round.
Uefa would not answer the hypothetical question on Friday and it was easy to imagine them hoping for an Arsenal win to guard against the potentially troublesome situation of finding a replacement for a banned team. But there is precedent from the recent past, which even involved Fenerbahce and the Turkish league.
In 2011 Fenerbahce were withdrawn from the Champions League by their national federation, at the behest of Uefa, in the wake of the match-fixing scandal, which led Uefa, in accordance with their regulations, to promote the next best-placed club in the domestic league of the same association – Trabzonspor, who had finished as the runners-up to Fenerbahce in the previous season.
Besiktas finished behind Fenerbahce in third last season but they, too, face the threat of expulsion from Uefa competition because of their alleged involvement in match-fixing; like Fenerbahce, they await a final CAS ruling at the end of the month. Bursaspor were fourth in Turkey last season, meaning that they could yet be in line for promotion.
The legal minefield overshadowed a testing draw with difficult travel for Arsenal against the 18-times Turkish champions. The first-leg is scheduled for Wednesday 21 August at the 50,509-capacity Sukru Saracoglu stadium – one of Europe's most atmospheric venues and where Arsenal have won before in the Champions League. Wenger's team beat Fenerbahce 5-2 at the group stage in 2008-09.
