- UEFA’s rules previously limited clubs that had the same ownership
- There were fears over Man United and Man City’s participation in Europe
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Man United and Man City will both be allowed to play in European competitions next season alongside their sister clubs.
There were concerns over multi-club ownership with UEFA rules previously stating that two clubs with the same ownership couldn’t play in the same competition in the same season.
New minority owner Jim Ratcliffe also owns Ligue 1 club Nice and both clubs have qualified for next season’s Europa League.
Girona, meanwhile, joined City Football Group in 2017 upon a purchase of a 44 per cent stake in the club and secured their place alongside City in the Champions League next term after finishing third in LaLiga.
UEFA investigated both situations and have ruled that all four clubs will be able to participate in the competition they qualified for.
Three Girona directors with connections to the City Football Group – John MacBeath, Simon Cliff and Ingo Bank – left their positions this week and were replaced by Matthew Shale, Edward Gall, and Paul Ganston, who do not share the same conflict of interest.
Both Manchester clubs have managed to show UEFA that they will not be breaching Article 5 of its rules, which demands that ‘no one is simultaneously involved, directly or indirectly, in any capacity whatsoever in the management, administration and/or sporting performance of more than one club participating in a UUFE club competition; and no one has control or decisive influence over more than one club participating in a UEFA club competition’.
UEFA determined they had made ‘significant changes… to the ownership, governance, and financial support of the concerned clubs, substantially restrict the investors’ influence and decision-making power over more than one club’.
The ruling also states that investors in Nice and Girona will not be able to appoint directors or have an influence on sporting decisions while shares are in a blind trust.
UEFA also confirmed that clubs that have shared ownership cannot make transfers or loan deals with one-another this season.
Source: UEFA confirm Man United and Man City can play in same competitions
