Could a Premier League club lose their European place once again? t the club have taken the necessary steps to ensure both they and Roma could play in the same European competition As the battle for places in Europe hots up in the Premier League, the race to shuffle papers to satisfy Uefa's bureaucrats has been just as intense. This is because European football's governing body has strict multi-club ownership (MCO) rules.Those rules could cause a team to be demoted from one competition to another, like Crystal Palace were from the Europa League to the Conference League last season, or miss out on Europe altogether. Half of the Premier League clubs are now in some form of multi-club arrangement.Everton, Chelsea and Nottingham Forest all had their lawyers scrambling for a solution before Uefa's 1 March deadline.Brighton, meanwhile, will hope the action they took three years ago still meets requirements.Clubs have been locked in talks with Uefa to make sure they have got their house in order.
But have they done enough?What are Uefa's multi-club ownership rules?Uefa says sporting integrity is of "fundamental importance" and that it must be "undisputable", and that two teams who are very closely linked should not play in the same competition.This includes, but is not limited to, the total shareholding and voting rights - 30% generally being the trigger.Just as important is the test of decisive influence - directors or staff members who are involved in key decisions.What does this mean in practice? If Uefa's Club Financial Control Body (CFCB) rules that there is a conflict, then one club must be removed.Priority is given to the team in the higher-ranked competition - this could apply if one team is in, say, Champions League qualifying and could drop into the Europa League.Then it is domestic league position.Finally, Uefa coefficient - which the Premier League sits top of.After years of allowing clubs to register solutions after they had qualified, last season Uefa brought forward its compliance date to 1 March - and it caught out three teams. Palace, Irish club Drogheda United and Slovak outfit FC DAC 1904 became the first to face punishment under the MCO regulations.All three took their cases to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (Cas), and lost.In December, Uefa sent a fresh circular underlining that 1 March is still "a strict deadline for compliance", citing the rulings made by Cas.This led to the flurry of activity across several clubs at the end of February.Everton and Roma oma played each other in a pre-season friendly at Hill Dickinson Stadium last summerThe link between Everton and Roma is not too well known, but it could yet be the most compelling story.The Toffees are 11th in the Premier League, but only three points off sixth.
As it stands, sixth earns Europa League football.In Serie A, Roma are level on points with fifth-placed Como, which would also come with a spot in the Europa League.The two clubs are owned by the Friedkin Group through subsidiary entities. Everton are controlled by Roundhouse Capital Holdings Limited, and Roma under Romulus and Remus Investments. The two people with significant control in Roundhouse Capital Holdings are Analaura Moreira-Dunkel and Marcus Watts - high-ranking officials in the Friedkin Group.They are also on the Everton board and were associated with Roma in the years immediately after the takeover but no longer have an identifiable role at the Italian club.Everton's issue could be that US billionaire Dan Friedkin is both their chairman and president of Roma.
Friedkin is also the 'person of significant control' at Pursuit Sports UK, an umbrella group for sports operations. Uefa's definition of "control", "decisive influence" and "shared decision-making" is broad. Everton will have to prove there is no risk or appearance of involvement by Friedkin in both clubs.
Palace argued that John Textor had no such say at Selhurst Park, but Cas agreed with Uefa that he had a role in several transfers and appointments. Everton are confident that they have a solution, but are not saying what that is. Whether that is a case of playing their cards close to their chest or not, only time will tell.The club have ruled out a blind trust, the route Nottingham Forest appear to have chosen.If the CFCB does need to make a decision, the ownership structure and Friedkin's presence on both boards would be looked at.Chelsea and Strasbourg Paul Winstanley and Behdad Eghbali have been removed as directors of companies linked to Chelsea and StrasbourgTo many fans, Chelsea and Strasbourg may be the most obvious example of two clubs operating as one entity.They are both under the BlueCo umbrella and if they do end up in the same competition, it will be a serious tests of Uefa's multi-club ownership policy.
Manager Liam Rosenior left the French outfit for Stamford Bridge in December, while 11 players have moved between the two clubs this season. BlueCo have made changes - but will it be enough?On 17 February, four members of the board of BlueCo Alsace, the French club's holding company, stepped down. They were Paul Winstanley and Laurence Stewart, Chelsea's joint-sporting directors.
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