By Our Reporter
Chelsea risk being banned from the Champions League unless they agree to a UEFA demand. With three games to go of the Premier League season, the Blues sit in fifth place, two points ahead of Nottingham Forest in sixth.
Due to the Premier League’s co-efficient score, finishing fifth would guarentee qualification for next season’s Champions League. Chelsea last played in the top level of European competition in 2022/2023.
That campaign they reached the quarter-finals, before being dumped out by Real Madrid. Current boss Enzo Maresca’s task for the rest of this season is to secure a top five finish for his side.
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The Italian has also led the Blues to the final of the Europa Conference League, where they will play Real Betis. Winning that competition, or finishing sixth in the top-flight would see Chelsea qualify for next year’s Europa League.
But the ownership situation at Stamford Bridge could create problems for the Blues. Their current owners are BlueCo, with the consortium also possessing a controlling stake in Ligue 1 side Strasbourg.
They currently sit sixth in the French top-flight, enough to qualify for the Europa Conference League. But with two games remaining, they are only a point behind Monaco, who hold the final Champions League group stage qualification place.
UEFA rules prevent multi-club ownership models from operating in their competitions. According to BBC Sport, BlueCo have been in talks with UEFA since January over moving to a structure that would be compliant with the rules.
That would see Strasbourg move into a ‘blind’ trust and remove any conflicts with board members or staff working across the two clubs. BlueCo could also reduce their stake in one of the clubs to satisfy UEFA.
That is what Nottingham Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis has done for possible Champions League qualification, with Olympiakos set to qualify for the competition by winning the Greek league.
Legally, Marinakis has ceased to become a “person with significant control” of the company that owns Forest. The Greek shipping magnate maintains his commitment to Forest, as do Chelsea’s owners towards Strasbourg.
Strasbourg are led by English boss Liam Rosenior and are unbeaten since the March international break, including beating champions PSG last week. UEFA would also bar Chelsea and Strasbourg from making transfers of any kind between the two clubs should they end up in the same competition.
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