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By Jean-Francois Rosnoblet
MARSEILLE, France, Dec 9 (Reuters) - Olympique Marseille won the right to compete in the UEFA Cup with a 0-0 draw at home to Atletico Madrid in their final Champions League Group D match on Tuesday.
Marseille held on to third place to clinch a berth in the last 32 of the UEFA Cup. Atletico, who had already qualified, finished second behind Liverpool after the English side won 3-1 at PSV Eindhoven. The Dutch team ended bottom and leave Europe.
A Marseille fan sentenced to jail in Spain after assaulting police officers during the team's first meeting in Madrid two months ago was released on bail a few hours before Tuesday's game.
The fan, Santos Mirasierra, was sentenced to 3-1/2 years in prison last week. He is appealing.
The case was a source of rising tension ahead of Atletico's trip to Marseille and local police had feared there might be trouble.
The match was incident-free, however, apart from a few flares lit by Marseille supporters in the closing stages that could earn the French club a fine from UEFA.
Atletico beat Marseille 2-1 in Madrid on Oct. 1, but the game was marred by clashes between police and visiting fans before kickoff.
Marseille, Champions League winners in 1993, dominated Tuesday's match but were too cautious and created few clear opportunities.
Their best chance came on 66 minutes with an effort from close range by France winger Hatem Ben Arfa saved by Atletico's French keeper Gregory Coupet.
