Football: UEFA gives green light to multi-club ownership

Football UEFA gives green light to multi-club ownership

Despite the multi-ownership, both Manchester teams and Girona and Nice are allowed to compete in European football competitions. Photo

© Robert Michael/dpa

Football clubs are sought-after investments. Some have the same owner. This creates conflicts.

The English football champions Manchester City and FC Girona from Spain can start in the Champions League, as can Manchester United and OGC Nice from France in the Europa League. The Financial Control Chamber of the European Football Union for Clubs (CFCB) gave the green light for this.

The CFCB had previously initiated proceedings due to a possible conflict with the cross-ownership rule provided for in Article 5 of the UEFA Club Competitions Regulations. According to UEFA statutes, two clubs with the same owner may not participate in a competition in parallel.

Manchester City and Girona are part of the City Football Group. The investment company controlled from Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates owns, in whole or in part, numerous football clubs around the world. Manchester United (in part) and Nice (in whole) belong to the chemical company Ineos, owned by British billionaire Jim Ratcliffe.

UEFA has now announced that the clubs have made “significant changes” in their management and structure so that the regulations are met. No one has “control or decisive influence over more than one club”. No one is involved in the management of more than one club, it said.

UEFA has already had to make several decisions regarding multi-club ownership in the past. This included in 2017, when Red Bull Salzburg and RB Leipzig were allowed to take part in UEFA competitions. Critics, however, see the integrity of the game at risk.

dpa

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