Chelsea Europa League reality REVEALED as Manchester United could drop into Conference League
If Manchester United is unable to demonstrate that they are complying with UEFA’s regulations regarding multi-club ownership, Chelsea may be granted an indirect path to the Europa League.
After defeating Manchester City in the FA Cup final, United defeated the Blues on Saturday to earn a spot in the Europa League. The sixth-place club for the second-tier European tournament in England is automatically replaced by the team that wins the FA Cup and did not qualify for Europe based on league standings.
Chelsea was thus obliged to make due with the Conference League, the new third-tier European competition established by UEFA. Still, there might be a chance for the Blues to participate in the Europa League.
According to UEFA’s regulations, two clubs owned by the same person or business cannot compete in the same European competition. This is to ensure the integrity of the competition remains and a scenario does not play out where one club is instructed to lose on purpose.
Where United falls into trouble is that their new co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe owns Ligue 1 side Nice who have also qualified for the Europa League. Due to the French team finishing higher in their respective division than the Reds, it would be United who drop into the Europa Conference League.
Theoretically, Chelsea are in a strong position however our colleagues at the Manchester Evening News understand INEOS have been in talks with UEFA about this eventuality for some time and are confident they will be allowed to compete alongside Nice. What Ratcliffe must do between now and June 3 when UEFA meets is that there is enough separation between United and Nice that multi-club rules would not be broken.
There is a precedent for allowing two teams owned by the same entity to compete in Europe together. Last season, both Aston Villa and Brighton were allowed to enter Europe despite Vitoria and Union Saint-Gilloise being affiliated with them and qualifying for Europe.
If for whatever reason United do drop out of the Europa League, we can expect Chelsea to take their place in the competition.