Tottenham handed bye into last 16

Tottenham Hotspur have been handed a bye into the last 16 of the UEFA Cup after last week's expulsion of their opponents Feyenoord.

European soccer's governing body announced the decision on its official website yesterday.

Spurs, who are twice UEFA Cup winners, are due to face the winners of the match between struggling Serie A side Parma and Portugal's Braga in March for a place in the quarter-finals.

However, Feyenoord said they are likely to appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport against their expulsion.

The Dutch club, who have lifted the trophy twice, were thrown out of the competition by UEFA last week after crowd disturbances during a group stage match away to Nancy.

During the trouble on Nov. 30, tear gas was used to control rioting Feyenoord fans who spilled on to the pitch. The match was suspended for half an hour.

Feyenoord had been fined 200,000 Swiss Francs ($160,800) and given a suspended sentence to play two matches in an empty stadium by UEFA's independent Control and Disciplinary Board.

But UEFA called for a harsher punishment with the body's chief prosecutor appealing against the original decision.

Feyenoord's management has yet to receive the reasoning for the expulsion but their inclination is to fight the ruling.

"We would like to have this ruling reviewed by a court," said financial manager Onno Jacobs.

"Based on the facts, we do not feel that we should be punished.

"We have thought about cutting our losses but the predominant feeling is that the club has been wronged. We expect to be able to provide greater clarity at the end of the week, after we have closely studied the reasoning."

A CAS spokesman said a tribunal could suspend UEFA's punishment, meaning the game with Spurs would go ahead, or decide there were no grounds to delay the expulsion.

"However, if it's practical we would aim to have a verdict before the game," he added.

The first leg of the round of 32 is due to take place on Feb. 14 with the return on Feb. 22.

A Tottenham spokesman said they would not comment on whether the club would claim compensation for lost television and gate receipts until Feyenoord had made up their mind over an appeal.