By Staff Reporter (staff@latinospost.com) | First Posted: May 23, 2013 02:04 PM EDT

The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) is expected to decide, by the end of the week, whether the 2015-2016 Europa Cup winners will be rewarded with a Champions League qualifying berth the following season.

This is one of the new measures that UEFA's Congress will consider ratifying on Friday.

"Discussions have taken place about the Europa League and some changes are needed for that competition," said UEFA general secretary Gianni Infantino.

UEFA is hoping that giving the Europa Cup winner a spot into Champions League will boost interest in Europe's secondary club tournament - in terms of prize money, credibility, prestige, and media coverage over the last decade.

The Europa League features many of Europe's leading clubs who missed out on Champions League but many clubs consider the tournament a consolation prize for teams that fail to qualify to Champions League.

Europa League and Champions League maintain a loose connection, as the eight clubs who finish third in the their Champions League groups are transferred into Europa League's knockout rounds.

UEFA is also looking to implement 10-match bans on teams or officials disciplined for racism as well as stadium closures - partial closings on the first offense and complete facility closure for repeat offenders - in order to rein in racist behavior in the stands and on the pitch.

UEFA is trying to give their "Respect" anti-racism campaign more teeth, in light of events like last week's AC Milan-AS Roma game, in which Roma fans were yelling "monkey chants" hurled at Milan's Mario Balotelli and teammate Kevin-Prince Boateng. The game was briefly halted, as officials attempted to regain control of the fans in the stand.

"We are sending a very strong message that this kind of behaviour will no longer be tolerated in any form," Infantino said.