UEFA make brutal decision on banning Man Utd from Europe next season as new rules updated and could affect Manchester United’s future
With a game remaining, Manchester United is presently nine points behind Aston Villa in fourth place in the Premier League rankings.
They now have a chance to qualify for the UEFA Champions League.
But UEFA rules stating that clubs owned by the same person cannot play in the same European championship in the same season provide a major challenge for both Manchester United and Nice.
Based on their current league standings, Nice and Manchester United would both qualify for the UEFA Europa League.
However, new changes to UEFA’s integrity regulations state that, even in cases when both clubs qualify, only one from the same ownership group may compete.
These rules would force the team that placed lower in their individual league standings to relegation in the lower division competition.
In this case, Manchester United, who is presently ranked sixth, would hypothetically drop to the UEFA Europa Conference League if both Nice and Manchester United qualify for the Europa League.
However, according to Daily Mail claims, Manchester United has secured guarantees from UEFA on their ability to compete in Europe’s secondary league under such conditions.
It has been claimed that the club has been in talks with UEFA on this possible situation for a while.
The owner of both Nice and Manchester United, Sir Jim Ratcliffe, stated in February that he was confident his ownership of Nice would not prevent Manchester United from competing in Europe.
He emphasised the subtleties and the dynamic nature of UEFA laws, suggesting that Manchester City, who control Girona through the City Football Group, may face such difficulties sooner rather than later.
Ratcliffe emphasised that ownership structure regulations are flexible and made it clear that the crux of the matter is influence levels and board seats.
In contrast to strict black-and-white regulations, he claimed that there are some grey areas, indicating some leeway in handling ownership-related concerns within the confines of UEFA.
The club’s participation in European competitions is assured despite its shared ownership with Nice, thanks to continued conversations and assurances from UEFA, despite the fact that UEFA regulations initially constituted a potential hurdle to Manchester United’s European aspirations.
