SAINTS’ hopes of playing European football next season suffered a blow with the double sending off against West Brom.

Hopes were high that the first season back in the Premier League would be rewarded with a Europa League place thanks to their – up to now – excellent disciplinary record.

But red cards for Gaston Ramirez and Danny Fox on Saturday – the first for 52 games – have put a dent in the dream of European qualification.

Saints were fifth when the Fair Play table was last calculated, since when they have played three games.

But in their favour is the fact that only two players were booked in the two games before West Brom’s visit and that the four teams above them on April 11 – Arsenal, Liverpool, Spurs and Manchester United – can all qualify for Europe without using the Fair Play route.

Liverpool’s position has been weakened by Luis Suarez’s recent antics but red/yellow cards are one of only six criteria used to determine the Fair Play table, the others being ‘positive play’, respect towards opponents, respect towards the referee, behaviour of the team officials and behaviour of the public.

European football’s governing body, UEFA, hands three nations an extra Europa League place each season for its domestic top-division Fair Play winner.

UEFA’s decision is based on its own league table of Fair Play among its member nations.

England sit fourth, behind Norway, Sweden and Finland, fractionally off guaranteeing an extra European spot for the winner of the Premier League’s own Fair Play League.

The Europa League is the second tier of European football behind the Champions League and offers the chance of high-profile and lucrative fixtures.

Saints last played in Europe in 2003, following their FA Cup final appearance that year.