Man Utd owners break silence on potential Europa League ban as they reveal crunch talks with Uefa
INEOS are “convinced” Manchester United and Nice will both be allowed to compete in the Europa League next season.
Erik ten Hag’s side qualified for the competition by winning the FA Cup on Saturday.
But Nice, who are owned by Ineos, also booked their place in the Europa League by finishing fifth in Ligue Un.
However Ineos, who own a 27.5 per cent stake in United, are confident both clubs will be allowed to feature following talks with Uefa.
Ineos issued a statement which read: “We are aware of the position of the two clubs and we are in direct dialogue with UEFA.
“We are convinced that we have a solution for next season in Europe.”
There were fears the Red Devils could be bumped down to the Europa Conference League as Nice finished higher in their respective league, with United coming eighth in the Premier League.
But United appear to have reached an agreement with Uefa as Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s stake is less than the 30 per cent threshold for multi-club ownership rules to apply.
However Ineos’ stake reportedly includes a plan to invest a further £245m for infrastructure works which would take their ownership to more than 30 per cent.
Passing this threshold would put Ineos in violation of ownership rules and force one of the teams to be relegated to the Conference League.
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Article 5.01 b. of the Uefa regulations states no individual “may simultaneously be involved, either directly or indirectly, in any capacity whatsoever in the management, administration and/or sporting performance of more than one club participating in a UEFA club competition.”
This would have seen United being booted out of European football entirely.
Fortunately for them, in March Uefa relaxed its rules on multi-club ownership ahead of the 2024/25 season.
And Article 5.04 now says a club that is replaced in one competition “may still be admitted to another UEFA club competition (i.e. in descending order: UEFA Europa League or UEFA Conference League) to which the relevant national association has access”.
Earlier this season, Brighton and Aston Villa were only allowed to play in Uefa competitions when their owners reduced their stakes in clubs on the continent to under 30 per cent.