Match to be played behind closed doors
Floriana were drawn to face Romanian side CFR Cluj in the first qualifying round of the Champions League as the draw of UEFA’s elite competition were held on Sunday in Nyon, Switzerland.
As expected, the Maltese champions were handed a difficult tie on their return to UEFA’s top competition after a 27-year-wait as the Romanian champions have a lot of experience in playing high level matches in European competition.
In fact, CFR Cluj have made five appearances in the UEFA Champions League with their best performance in the competition coming in 2012-13 season when they managed to amass 10 points in their group.
In that season, they went on to meet Serie A giants Inter in the round of 32 but were eliminated 5-0 on aggregate.
Last season, the Romanian giants competed in the Europa League and set a new record in the second UEFA competition for their country after managing to collect a record 12 points in the group to reach the knock-out stages at the expense of Italian side Lazio.
Their run in the competition came to an end in the Round of 32 when they were knocked out by Sevilla on the away goals rule after the tie had finished in a 1-1 draw.
One positive for Floriana FC is that this year’s European ties are being held in one-off ties and the Greens were drawn at home meaning that they will host the match at either the Centenary Stadium or the National Stadium on August 18 or 19.
No fans will be allowed to watch the match.
Meawnhile, the European football governing body held the draws for the second qualifying round of the same competition on Monday.
Should Floriana overcome Cluj’s challenge, Enzo Potenza’s team would host Croatian giants Dinamo Zagreb.
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE DRAW
Ferencvaros vs Djurgardens
Celtic vs KR Rekyakiv
Legia Warsaw vs Winner Preliminary round
Sheriff Tiraspol vs CS Fola Esch
Connah’s Quay vs FK Sarajevo
Red Star Belgrade vs Europa FC
FK Buducnost vs FC Ludogorets
Arat Armenia vs AC Omonia
Floriana FC vs CFR Cluj
Maccabi Tel Aviv vs Riga FC
Qarabag vs Sileks
FC Dinamo Tbilisi vs Tirana
Dynamo Brest vs FC Astana
Molde vs KuPS Kuopio
FC Flora Tallinn vs FK Suduva
NK Celje vs Dundalk
KI Klaksvik vs Slovan Bratislava
Matches to be played on August 18-19
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