Football: Inter and Ilves advance in Conference League qualifiers; three red cards in Tampere match

FC Inter Turku achieved a significant victory in the Europa Conference League qualifiers, advancing to the next stage by defeating FK Sarajevo 3-2 on aggregate. After a 1-1 draw in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Inter faced a challenging first half at home, falling behind to a goal from Francis Kyeremeh.

However, the Finnish team mounted a comeback in the second half. Alie Conteh equalized in the 58th minute when a defender's clearance deflected into the net off him. The winning goal came in the 87th minute from substitute Jean Botué, who powerfully shielded the ball before setting up Clinton Jephta for the decisive strike.

This marks Inter's second-ever advancement in European competitions, with their previous success coming in the Intertoto Cup in 2005. The club is set to earn at least 700,000 euros for reaching the second qualifying round, where they will face Turkish side Başakşehir.

Meanwhile, Tampere Ilves also secured their place in the next round by overcoming Luxembourg's Differdange. After a goalless first leg, Ilves came from behind at home to win 3-1. Yiandro Raap and Jardell Kanga (penalty) scored for Ilves, with Roope Riski adding a third. The match was marred by a brawl that resulted in three red cards: two for Differdange and one for Ilves' Raap. Ilves will now play the winner of the Stjarnan (Iceland) vs. Vikingur Göta (Faroe Islands) tie.