Uefa ready to rip up ownership rules that could BAN Man Utd from Champions League – but there’s a catch
EURO club chiefs are putting Uefa under pressure to rip up the rules that could ban Manchester United from next season’s Champions League.
Sun Sport revealed how Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s new role as United’s football overlord imperils the club’s place in Europe because of his ownership of surprise French title contenders Nice.
And now Uefa bosses are coming under increasing demands to rewrite the rules that currently bar teams who are part of multi-club ownership groups from taking part in the same competition.
Current regulations state that no individual or entity “may have control or influence over more than one club participating in a Uefa competition”.
The rules also state that no individual can be “involved in any capacity” or have any “power whatsoever in the management, administration and/or sporting performance of any other club” participating in a Uefa competition.
But Ratcliffe’s imminent investment into United will add to the pressure on Uefa President Aleksander Ceferin to reform the regulations.
A senior Uefa source confirmed that a number of clubs have been lobbying for changes for next season, when the new expanded Champions League comes into operation.
The revamped competition will be worth up to £140m for leading clubs in participation and prize money.
While some clubs want Uefa to simply take the multi-club regulations out of the rulebook, Nyon chiefs are still concerned about the risks to the “integrity” of the competition.
One option being canvassed – and which could be agreed – would see multi-club teams prevented from meeting each other in the new initial league stage, so no collusion can take place.
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But they could then be drawn against each other in the knock-out phase, as no other clubs could be adversely affected by the result of that tie.
Ceferin hinted at possible changes earlier this year, in an interview with Gary Neville’s The Overlap podcast.
The Slovenian said: “We are not thinking about Manchester United only.
“We’ve had five or six owners of clubs who want to buy another club. We have to see what to do.
“The options are that it stays like that or that we allow them to play in the same competition.
“I’m not sure yet. We have to speak about these regulations and see what to do about it.”
The City Football Group includes current La Liga leaders Girona as well as Pep Guardiola’s defending champions, Chelsea have a majority stake in French side Strasbourg while Nottingham Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis is also the boss of Olympiakos in his native Greece.
Everton’s would-be new owners 777 Partners already have a stable including Hertha Berlin, Genoa and Standard Liege, while Newcastle are understood to be considering the multi-club model.
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