US-owned Irish soccer club Drogheda barred from Conference League by UEFA ownership rules

GENEVA (AP) — Irish Cup winner Drogheda lost its appeal on Monday against being removed from the Conference League next season for breaking UEFA rules when investors own multiple clubs.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport said its judges gave an urgent decision dismissing Drogheda’s appeal that was heard on Monday. On Tuesday, UEFA will start making the draws for qualifying rounds in the third-tier European competition.

Drogheda and Silkeborg of Denmark qualified for the Conference League second preliminary round but are owned by the Trivela Group from the United States.

UEFA rules to protect sporting integrity do not allow teams from a multi-club network to enter the same competition if one owner has “decisive influence” over management of both.

Drogheda apologized to fans in a statement for the situation leading to a decision that caused “great heartbreak and disbelief” and will cost the club at least hundreds of thousands of euros (dollars) in UEFA prize money.

The American-back club missed a March 1 deadline set by UEFA to anticipate a pending problem and make changes to the ownership or executive structure.

CAS said the three judges agreed UEFA communicated key information which Drogheda “knew or ought to have known about.” A 2-1 majority of the judges “rejected (the club’s) submissions on alleged unequal treatment by UEFA,” the court said.

Other cases involving Manchester City, Manchester United, AC Milan, Brighton and Aston Villa in the past two years were resolved by one of the ownership stakes being placed into a blind trust for the season. A UEFA expert panel also imposed transfer bans and limited cooperation between clubs in question.

The UEFA panel is also assessing if Crystal Palace and Lyon can both enter the next Europa League. Lyon’s American owner John Textor has a 43% stake in Palace though with limited decision-making power.

In the latest case, Silkeborg took priority with UEFA to get the Conference League place because it finished higher in the Danish league this season than Drogheda did in the Irish league last year.

Drogheda loses prize money of 350,000 euros ($406,000) that UEFA pays for playing in the Conference League second qualifying round.

“We believe it is unjust. Rules should protect opportunity, not prevent it,” Drogheda said. “Nevertheless, we accept responsibility. And we’re sorry.”

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