UEFA asked the Union Saint Gillois Belgian information about its owners, because the main investor of the Brussels group is the British businessman Tony Bloomalso owner and president of Brighton English, and both clubs can qualify for European competitions next season.
Depending on how their respective campaigns end, Union Saint Gillois and Brighton may conflict with article 5 of the UEFA regulations, which states that two clubs belonging to the same owner cannot participate in an interclub competition (Champions League, Europa League and Conference League).
The communication director of the Belgian club, Maarten Verdoodtindicated that UEFA “requested proprietary information from club representatives”, but the Union Saint Gillois He is counting on the body that governs European football not to interfere because of a possible conflict of interest.
No ‘special relationship’
“As things stand, we have no concerns in this matter (…). Mr. Bloom is a passive investor and is in no way involved in the operations of the club” because “USG and Brighton are does not enjoy any ‘special relationship’ ” he taught.
“Mr. Bloom’s joint investment in USG with our president – Englishman Alex Muzio – is very different from other multi-model club ownership,” they added from the Brussels club.
He USGsecond in the regular season, now contending with Genk, Antwerp and Bruges in the “play-off” that will decide the league champion as well as access to next season’s European competitions (Champions League and Conference League ), although Antwerp is guaranteed access to the group stage of the Europa League by being proclaimed cup champions.
He Brighton It is currently the seventh in the Premier League, where up to seven teams can access UEFA competitions based on their final League position or Cup results.
The example of Red Bull
The situation of Union Saint Gillois and Brighton reminds the one who lived in the 2018 season Red Bull Salzburg Austrian and the RB Leipzig German, both controlled by the Red Bull group. But in the end, UEFA did not exclude either of the two teams from their competitions.
“Following a thorough investigation, and following the various structural and management changes made by the clubs”, regarding business, financing, personnel, sponsorship agreements, etc.), the UEFA Club Financial Control Body considers that no natural or legal person has “decisive influence” in both clubs.
direct confrontation
leipzig and Salzburg They even faced the Europa League directly in the 2018-2019 season.
He Union Saint Gillois looking forward to “playing in Europe for the second season in a row and that is important and exciting for the club”, which this season managed to reach the quarterfinals of the Europa League, where it was eliminated by Bayern Leverkusen of Xabi Alonso.
“At the moment, we don’t know which European competition we will participate in and we hope to do our best,” added the club’s spokesperson. USGwho last won the Belgian league in 1935.
And “from afar”, the Brussels club wants the Brighton “the best in their efforts to qualify for Europe”.
Qatar, in the race to acquire United
UEFA rules on club timeshare, in a context where more and more sheikhs and magnates control some teams, may also influence the race to get the Manchester Utdwhere Qatar, owner of Paris Saint-Germain through the company Qatar Sport Investment (QSI), and the INEOS group, owner of OGC is beautiful.
Source: La Verdad
I’m Rose Herman and I work as an author for Today Times Live. My expertise lies in writing about sports, a passion of mine that has been with me since childhood. As part of my job, I provide comprehensive coverage on everything from football to tennis to golf.
