Burnley F.C. in international football

The Parc des Princes (1932 photograph) was the stage for the first round return leg against Stade de Reims.

Burnley's first appearance in European football came in the 1960–61 season. The club had won its second First Division title in 1959–60 under the management of Harry Potts and as such qualified for the 1960–61 European Cup.[1] The European Cup — a tournament contested between several national champions and other European sides — started in 1955–56.[2] Burnley was the third club to represent England in the competition, preceded by Manchester United and Wolverhampton Wanderers.[3] The club's squad consisted of mostly players who came through the Burnley youth academy; a transfer fee was paid for only two players — for Jimmy McIlroy in 1950 and for Alex Elder in 1959.[4] Potts often employed the at the time unfashionable 4–4–2 formation and he implemented a Total Football playing style.[5][6]

Burnley received a bye in the preliminary round and were drawn against French club Stade de Reims in the first round.[7] Reims were the 1959–60 French Division 1 champions,[1] and were runners-up in the European Cup in 1956 and 1959.[8] The first leg was played at Burnley's Turf Moor ground and was won 2–0: Jimmy Robson scored in the first minute and McIlroy netted a second in the 22nd minute. The return leg, played two weeks later at Parc des Princes in Paris, ended in a 3–2 loss, although Robson had put Burnley 1–0 ahead.[9] During the game, Potts ran on the pitch to put the ball back to its correct place during a Reims free-kick, having become exasperated by their constant attempts to steal a few yards, after which he was taken off the field by the local police.[1][10] Despite the loss and crowd disturbances, Burnley won 4–3 on aggregate and qualified for the quarter-final,[1][7] in which the club faced West German champions Hamburger SV.[11] At Turf Moor, Brian Pilkington scored twice to put Burnley 2–0 up with Robson adding a third, before Hamburg pulled one back in the last minutes of the game.[9] The second leg was played two months later at the Volksparkstadion and was broadcast live on the BBC. Uwe Seeler scored twice in a 4–1 win for Hamburg; McIlroy hit the post in the last minute and Burnley were eliminated.[11][12]

José Altafini's penalty for Napoli was saved by Harry Thomson, who was later hailed by the Italian press as a "God in a Green Jersey".

The maximum wage in the Football League was abolished in 1961,[13] which meant that clubs from small towns like Burnley could no longer compete financially with sides from bigger towns and cities,[5] and damaged Burnley's fortunes.[14] The side ventured back into international football competition, however, with qualification for the 1966–67 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup due to a third-place finish in the 1965–66 First Division.[15] The Inter-Cities Fairs Cup was another European competition which started in 1955.[16] The tournament was organised by the Fairs Cup committee,[17] who were backed by several FIFA executive committee members; since the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup was not under the auspices of UEFA, it does not consider teams' records in the Fairs Cup to be part of their European record.[18][19] However, FIFA does view the competition as a major honour.[20]

The first round draw saw Burnley face another West German team: VfB Stuttgart.[17] The first leg was played at Stuttgart's Neckarstadion and ended in a 1–1 draw; Burnley's Willie Irvine scored the first goal but the team ended the match with 10 players after Brian O'Neil was sent off in the 85th minute.[21][22] Burnley won the return leg with a scoreline of 2–0 and progressed to the second round with a 3–1 aggregate victory.[23] Swiss side Lausanne Sports were the opponents in the second round. Burnley won the tie 8–1 on aggregate; they won 3–1 away and 5–0 at home, with Andy Lochhead scoring a hat-trick in the latter match.[21] Burnley were drawn against Italian club Napoli in the following round. The first leg at Turf Moor ended in a 3–0 Burnley victory with goals from Ralph Coates, Les Latcham and Lochhead, who scored his sixth goal in the competition.[21] Napoli ended the game with 10 men after defender Dino Panzanato was sent off for kicking Lochhead in the head.[17] The Italian press previewed the return match in a belligerent manner: "From Lancashire where studs are made out of rose petals ... to Naples where visiting players are put through a mincing machine at the end of the game and their remains are roasted on a spit".[17] A crowd of 60,000 saw Burnley goalkeeper Harry Thomson make 13 saves, including a penalty kick from José Altafini, as the match ended in a 0–0 draw. The team, the Burnley fans and the English press were escorted to the local airport by a convoy to escape the Napoli fans, who hurled missiles during the match.[17] After the game, Thomson was hailed by the Italian press as a "God in a Green Jersey".[24] The quarter-final draw paired Burnley with Eintracht Frankfurt, the first leg being held at the Waldstadion. Jürgen Friedrich scored for Eintracht, before Burnley's Brian Miller netted the away goal.[23] In the second leg, Eintracht took a 2–0 lead, only for Miller to score again; the team could not find two more goals and Burnley were again eliminated by a West German side.[21]

Manager Sean Dyche (2013 photograph) accused Olympiacos' staff of intimidating the officials during the first leg of the play-off round.

Burnley had to wait 51 years for their third appearance in a major European football competition. During that period, the club played in all four professional divisions and only avoided relegation to the non-League fifth-tier Football Conference on the last matchday in 1986–87.[15][25] After yo-yoing between the first and second tiers, Burnley were again promoted to the Premier League in 2015–16.[15] The team finished in seventh position in the 2017–18 Premier League, which ensured qualification for the 2018–19 UEFA Europa League second qualifying round.[26]

Burnley were drawn against Scottish side Aberdeen to set up an all-British tie.[27] The first leg at Aberdeen's Pittodrie Stadium ended in a 1–1 draw: Sam Vokes cancelled out Aberdeen's Gary Mackay-Steven's converted penalty kick.[28] The second leg again finished 1–1 after 90 minutes; the game went into extra time, with Jack Cork and an Ashley Barnes penalty sealing the tie for Burnley.[29] They were drawn against Turkish club İstanbul Başakşehir in the third qualifying round, with the first match held in Istanbul, which resulted in a 0–0 draw.[30] After another goalless 90 minutes at home, the second leg went again into extra time. Cork scored the only goal in the 97th minute to set up a tie with Greek club Olympiacos in the play-off round, the last round before the group stage.[30][31] Five Burnley supporters were injured in incidents of football hooliganism several hours before the first leg started in Piraeus.[32][33] The home side won the tie 3–1 and Burnley ended the match with 10 men after defender Ben Gibson was sent off.[34] Olympiacos owner Evangelos Marinakis had reportedly entered the referee's room at half-time to vent his frustration at his performance; Burnley manager Sean Dyche later accused their staff of intimidating the officials.[35] In the return leg, Burnley missed multiple chances to score; the game finished 1–1 with Matěj Vydra scoring on his Burnley debut. The team lost 4–2 on aggregate and went out of the competition.[36]

Key

• 2QR = Second qualifying round
• 3QR = Third qualifying round
• POR = Play-off round
• PR = Preliminary round
• 1R = First round
• 2R = Second round
• 3R = Third round
• QF = Quarter-final

• Most appearances: Brian Miller, 12[38]
• Most goals: Andy Lochhead, 6[21]
• Most goals in a season: Andy Lochhead, 6, 1966–67[21]
• First European match: Burnley 2–0 Stade de Reims, European Cup first round, 16 November 1960[9]
• First goal scored in Europe: Jimmy Robson (in the first minute), against Stade de Reims, 16 November 1960[9]
• Biggest win: Burnley 5–0 Lausanne Sports, Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, 25 October 1966[21]
• Biggest defeat: Hamburger SV 4–1 Burnley, European Cup, 15 March 1961[38]
• Highest home attendance: 47,000 against Hamburger SV, European Cup, 18 January 1961[39]
• Lowest home attendance: 15,234 against Olympiacos, UEFA Europa League, 30 August 2018[40]
• Highest away attendance: 74,000 against Hamburger SV, European Cup, 15 March 1961[41]
• Lowest away attendance: 4,000 against Lausanne Sports, Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, 19 October 1966[39]

• Most appearances: Alan Stevenson, 26[50]
• Most goals: Steve Kindon and Peter Noble, 8[50]
• Most goals in a season: 6, Paul Fletcher (1973–74) and Steve Kindon (1978–79)[50]
• First match: Burnley 3–1 Hearts, Texaco Cup first round, 15 September 1970[51]
• First goal scored: Mick Docherty (in the second minute), against Hearts, 15 September 1970[47]
• Biggest win: Burnley 7–0 East Fife, Texaco Cup, 18 September 1973[46]
• Biggest defeat: Burnley 0–4 Blackpool, Anglo-Scottish Cup, 9 August 1977[46]
• Highest home attendance: 30,000 against Celtic, Anglo-Scottish Cup, 12 September 1978[50]
• Lowest home attendance: 3,354 against Shrewsbury Town, Anglo-Scottish Cup, 5 August 1980[50]
• Highest away attendance: 34,540 against Newcastle United, Texaco Cup final, 24 April 1974[50]
• Lowest away attendance: 2,000 against East Fife, Texaco Cup, 3 October 1973[50]