Manchester United: Ineos confident of avoiding Europa League ban

Ineos is “confident” in finding a solution that will allow Manchester United and Nice to participate in next season’s Europa League.

Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s Ineos company owns a 27.7% stake in Manchester United and oversees the club’s football operations, having also completed a takeover of French club Nice in 2019.

UEFA rules limit the influence any organization can have over multiple clubs in the same competition.

An independent panel will decide on the matter before the competition begins in mid-July with the qualifying rounds.

Due to UEFA’s regulations, Belgian club Union Saint-Gilloise had to modify its ownership structure last season to compete in the Europa League alongside Brighton, whose owner Tony Bloom played a key role for both clubs.

Aston Villa and Portuguese side Vitoria Guimaraes encountered a similar situation in the Europa Conference League.

This is also an issue that Manchester City and Spanish side Girona will need to address this summer, as both are part of the City Football Group and have qualified for next season’s Champions League.

If a solution is not found, United would have to drop into the Conference League because they finished lower in the Premier League last season than fifth-placed Nice did in Ligue 1.

However, Ineos is confident that this scenario will be avoided.

“We are aware of the position of both clubs and are in direct dialogue with Uefa,” it said.

“We are confident we have a route forward for next season in Europe.”

Ineos also owns Swiss Super League club FC Lausanne-Sport, but they have not qualified for European competition.