- Dunfermline face Celtic in the Scottish Cup final on 23 May
- The Pars will qualify for the Europa League if they lift trophy
- If Neil Lennon’s men win, Rangers will drop into Conference League
Dunfermline Athletic are weeks away from facing Celtic in the Scottish Cup at Hampden and the result will have a massive impact for Rangers.
As it currently stands, third place Rangers will qualify for the Conference League at the second qualifying round.
The Gers are four points behind second place Celtic, who if all remains the same will enter the Champions League at the second round of qualifiers.
However, Dunfermline, who finished fourth in the Scottish Championship have the opportunity to impact the permutations.
Dunfermline will secure European football by lifting Scottish Cup
The Pars, who are managed by former Celtic boss Neil Lennon are a Scottish Cup finalist.
If the East End Park club lift the Scottish Cup for the first time since 1968 they will be rewarded with a place in the third round of Europa League qualifiers.
Another opportunity in Europe would also arise if they lost that tie as they would drop into the Conference League playoffs.
This would not help Rangers if the league stays the same as defeat in their designated Conference League second round tie would see them eliminated from Europe.
A second reason Dunfermline lifting silverware on May 23 would sting for the Ibrox faithful is because Neil Lennon has had his fair share of inflicting nightmares on Rangers during his tenures at Celtic.
Rangers will benefit from rivals Celtic winning the cup as it stands
The opposite scenario is Celtic winning their 43rd Scottish Cup, a sight that will rankle with Rangers supporters young and old.
However, if this situation occurs then their Old Firm rivals lifting the trophy will help Rangers.
Celtic will take their Champions League place and instead of using their Europa League third round qualification, they will pass it down to the third placed team.
As it stands, that is Rangers.
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Rangers are currently four points adrift of the top two in third place with three league games remaining.
And if nothing changes, then the Gers will need Celtic to lift the Scottish Cup to have the best European route.
Of course, this situation becoming a possibility could have been avoided and if it does come to pass, Rangers will only have themselves to blame.
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