Emerson's bizarre mistake costs Hamrun Spartans early exit from Conference League
Hamrun Spartans, who eliminated RFS and reached the Conference League group stage last year, were eliminated in the first qualifying round this year after Brazilian midfielder Emerson mistakenly thought the ball had gone out, picked it up, and conceded a penalty.
Last season, Hamrun Spartans became the first Maltese club to reach the UEFA Conference League group stage by defeating then-Latvian champions RFS. This year, however, they suffered an early and unusual exit in the first qualifying round.
In the second leg at home against Faroese side NSÍ Runavík, the aggregate was level (1-1 from the first leg) when in stoppage time, Brazilian midfielder Emerson made a costly error. He incorrectly assumed that opponent Tobias Hestad had lost the ball out of play, so he caught it with his hands to take a free kick. However, referee Jeremy Miller judged that the ball had not fully left the field and awarded a penalty to NSÍ. The visitors converted the spot-kick and won 2-1 (3-2 on aggregate).
NSÍ Runavík will face Slovenian side Koper in the next round. Meanwhile, Latvian clubs performed well in the first round: Liepāja convincingly beat Montenegro's Dečić Tuzi (3-1 aggregate), while RFS defeated Northern Ireland's Glentoran (4-1). In the second round, Liepāja will face Austria Wien, RFS will play against Iceland's Vestri Ísafjörður, and Auda (Latvia) will take on Romania's FCSB.
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