Millwall F.C. in European football

Did You Know?

• Millwall entered the Anglo-Italian Cup for the first time in 1992, finishing bottom of their group after a 2–1 loss to Charlton Athletic and a 1–1 draw with Portsmouth.
• In the 1993–94 Anglo-Italian Cup, Millwall again finished bottom of their group, losing 3–0 to Crystal Palace and drawing 2–2 with Charlton Athletic.

2004–05 UEFA Cup

Millwall made their debut in European competition after reaching the 2003–04 FA Cup final. Because Manchester United, their opponents in that final, had already secured a Champions League spot through the Premier League, Millwall were assured a UEFA Cup place no matter what happened in the match, which they ultimately lost 3-0. Their first-round opponent was Hungarian club Ferencvárosi TC. The first leg at The New Den finished 1-1, with Dennis Wise netting the club’s first European goal.

Before the second leg, fighting erupted between fans of both sides, each known for hooliganism; two Millwall supporters were stabbed. Around 3,000 Millwall fans traveled to Budapest for the return leg at Stadion Albert Flórián, where their team lost 3-1, going out 4-2 on aggregate. UEFA later charged Ferencváros for the violence and racist abuse during that match. There were rumors that Millwall hooligans would head to Edinburgh when Ferencváros later played Heart of Midlothian, but Millwall dispatched a security expert who said it was improbable because of the risk of arrest and spending Christmas in a Scottish jail.

Aftermath

Since their UEFA Cup appearance, Millwall have played in leagues below the Premier League. In 2013 they reached the FA Cup semi-finals; as the other finalist Manchester City had already qualified for Europe, the semi-final winner would have entered the 2013–14 UEFA Europa League. However, Millwall lost 2–0 to Wigan Athletic at Wembley Stadium, and later changes to UEFA qualifying criteria meant FA Cup runners-up would no longer enter the Europa League if the winners had already qualified for Europe.