Yahoo News Man Utd and Man City handed UEFA go-ahead despite Aston Villa demand
Manchester United and Manchester City are set to be given the go-ahead by UEFA to compete in the same European competitions as their sister clubs in the coming season, despite Aston Villa's holding company V Sports being forced to reduce its stake in Vitoria Sport Clube last year.
It came after Villa and Vitoria both qualified for the Europa Conference League last season, months after V Sports entered into a sale and purchase agreement to acquire 46 per cent of the shares in the Primeira Liga club. After talks with UEFA last summer, both clubs were cleared to play in the Europa Conference League after Villa reduced its stake in Vitoria to 29 per cent by transferring shares equaling 17 per cent of the club’s total equity back to the Portuguese side.
Villa also no longer has any representation on the board of directors of Vitoria in order to comply with UEFA regulations and ensure the independence of both Villa and Vitoria. Despite Villa's process of amending their relationship with Vitoria, UEFA's Club Financial Control Board (CFCB) is set to give approval to the Manchester clubs playing along with their sister clubs subject to certain conditions.
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United and Nice, the French club owned by Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s company Ineos - who have owns 27.7 per cent of United and is in control of the club’s football operations - have both qualified for the Europa League, while City are in the Champions League along with the Spanish side Girona.
Girona are owned by City Football Group and have had three key players either loaned or sold via the group's influence, including the City-bound forward Savio. The CFCB is expected to say Girona and Nice should operated via a “blind trust” by a panel approved by UEFA, which is the same model used last season in a deal for AC Milan, Toulouse and their American investor Red Bird Capital.
However, clubs have been informed that next season will be viewed as a transitional one and there will not be as much leeway given in future campaigns.
