Aston Villa and Brighton have been given permission to participate in this season’s European competitions UEFA said it was satisfied neither club was in breach of its multi-club ownership rules - but both sides will face a number of restrictions
The governance structure of both was being investigated because their owners hold stakes in other clubs that have qualified for the same competition - in Villa’s case Portuguese club Vitoria and Brighton's the Belgian outfit Royal Union Saint-Gilloise. AC Milan and Toulouse have also been approved.
Brighton will make their debut in the Europa League group stage off the back of their sixth-place finish in last season’s Premier League with their sibling club set to face a play-off round.
Villa, who finished seventh in the table, have qualified for the play-off qualifying round of the Conference League with Vitoria entering in the third round.
UEFA has said that “significant changes” to the off-field structures have been implemented so the clubs can satisfy the multi-club rule, which is set to be relaxed if recent comments from president Aleksandar Ceferin are to be believed.
“Following the implementation of significant changes by the clubs and their related investors, the CFCB First Chamber accepted the admission of the aforementioned clubs to the UEFA club competitions for the 2023/24 season,” UEFA said.
“The CFCB found that the significant changes implemented brought the clubs into compliance with the multi-club ownership rule, considering that as of today:
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No club, either directly or indirectly, holds or deals in securities or shares of any other club participating in a UEFA club competition;
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No club is a member of any other club participating in a UEFA club competition;
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No one has any power whatsoever or 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 UEFA club competition; and
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No one has control or decisive influence over more than one club in a UEFA club competition.
“More specifically, the significant changes that were implemented relate to the ownership, governance and financing structure of the concerned clubs. These changes substantially restrict the investors’ influence and decision-making power over more than one club, ensuring compliance with the multi-club ownership rule.”
UEFA specified some of the changes made at clubs without naming them individually. They included the “significant reduction of the investors’ shareholding in one of the clubs, or transfer of the effective control and decision making of one of the clubs to an independent party” with restrictions on individuals working at both clubs.
Further conditions were placed on the clubs including guarantees that they “will not transfer players to each other, whether permanently or on loan, directly or indirectly, until September 2024” or enter into “technical or commercial agreements” while they have been banned from sharing information around recruitment.
