MANCHESTER UNITED face relegation from the Europa Conference League despite their FA Cup final triumph, reports suggest.
The Red Devils ended a difficult season on a high with a 2-1 win over Manchester City on Saturday and qualified for next season’s Europa League.
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Man Utd’s win in the FA Cup saw them qualify for the Europa LeagueCredit: Getty
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However, Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s majority ownership of French club Nice could cause a problem under Uefa’s multi-club rulesCredit: Alamy
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An increase in Man Utd’s ownership stake could see the Red Devils relegated to the Conference LeagueCredit: EPA
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Chelsea were relegated from the Europa League to the Conference League as a result, while Newcastle were kicked out of European competition entirely.
However, Man Utd could soon join the Blues in the third tier of European football due to Ineos and Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s links to French side Nice.
Ratcliffe, 71, completed the £88.77m purchase of the Ligue 1 side in 2019.
This season, the club secured a place in the Europa League after finishing 5th in the French first division.
However, with Ratcliffe and co now also taking a 27.7 per cent stake in Man Utd, this could cause problems for the Old Trafford outfit under Uefa’s multi-club ownership rules.
According to L’Equipe, Ineos’ stake came with plans to invest a further £245m in infrastructure works which would take their ownership to more than 30 per cent.
By crossing this threshold, Ineos would violate the rules of ownership and force one of the teams to be relegated to the Conference League.
Under normal circumstances, Nice would have been placed ahead of Man Utd thanks to their higher league position – with Man Utd finishing 8th in the Premier League.
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But an FA Cup win could see Man Utd take the lead over Ineos should a decision be made in that regard.
Article 5.01 b of the UEFA regulations states that no person “may be simultaneously involved, either directly or indirectly, in any capacity in the management, administration and/or sporting performance of more than one club participating in a UEFA club competition.”
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This would see Man Utd face complete expulsion from European football.
Fortunately for them, Uefa relaxed its rules on multi-club ownership in March ahead of the 2024/25 season.
And Article 5.04 now states that a club substituted in one competition “may still be admitted to another UEFA club competition (ie 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 below 30 percent.
Ineos issued a statement in response to the threat.
They said: “We are aware of the views of the two clubs and are in direct dialogue with UEFA.
“We are confident that we have a solution for next season in Europe.”
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