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Sevilla draws Villarreal in last 16
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SPANISH and Italian derby matches headed the last-16 draw in a Europa League increasingly affected by political tensions between Russia and Ukraine.
Defending champion Sevilla will play Villarreal as the two remaining Spanish sides were paired yesterday, and the five-strong Italian challenge produced a Fiorentina versus AS Roma clash.
Italian Premier Matteo Renzi, who is a Fiorentina fan and formerly the mayor of Florence, tweeted in Italian: “Of all the...it had to be Roma!”
With UEFA keeping the two Russian clubs apart from two Ukrainian clubs for political reasons, Zenit St Petersburg was drawn at home to Torino.
Dynamo Kiev will host Everton in the second leg next month, after crowd trouble flared and delayed play in its round-of-32 victory over Guingamp of France on Thursday.
A banner was reportedly shown in the tiny contingent of visiting supporters which turned a French tricolor on its side to resemble a Russian flag. It carried a slogan referring to the Crimea region of Ukraine which Russia annexed last year.
Dynamo director general Revaz Chokhonelidze said the incident was a “provocation” to home fans, whose reaction will likely lead to sanctions from UEFA. “Our supporters are very educated but when 20 (people) from Brittany show off a Russian flag, it is not good,” Chokhonelidze said.
Because UEFA decided last July that national and club teams from Russia and Ukraine should not meet, yesterday’s draw also produced Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk vs Ajax, and Napoli vs Dynamo Moscow.
Still, the competition could yet bring teams from the two countries together for the final in Warsaw on May 27.
The title winner is rewarded with a place in the Champions League — likely direct in the group stage — as a new incentive for UEFA’s second-tier competition.
Inter Milan, which has targeted the trophy to gain entry into the lucrative elite competition, was drawn away first against VfL Wolfsburg.
“It will be a tough game,” Inter coach Roberto Mancini said. “We’ve been paired with the side that are second in the Bundesliga, and who recently beat Bayern 4-1 in the league.”
The low-key Bruges vs Besiktas, Liverpool’s conqueror, completed the draw.
The first legs will be on March 12, with the return matches set for March 19.
After a second last-32 match was delayed by disorder on Thursday, UEFA general secretary Gianni Infantino spoke out against the “ugly scenes”.
Roma’s 2-1 win at Feyenoord was briefly stopped in the second half when home fans threw objects such as cigarette lighters and an inflatable banana on the pitch. Dutch police detained dozens of fans ahead of the tense return game after trouble in Rome one week earlier.
“Neither UEFA nor any true football fan can tolerate” such incidents, Infantino said ahead of the draw in Nyon.
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