Chelsea are at risk of being banned from next season’s Champions League unless they comply with a crucial UEFA demand.
With three matches remaining in the Premier League, the Blues sit in fifth place, two points ahead of sixth-placed Nottingham Forest.
Due to the Premier League’s co-efficient score, finishing in fifth place would guarantee Chelsea’s qualification for the Champions League next season.
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Chelsea last featured in the top tier of European competition in the 2022/2023 season, where they reached the quarter-finals before being knocked out by Real Madrid.
Enzo Maresca’s challenge for the remainder of the season is to ensure Chelsea secure a top-five finish. The Italian manager has already led the Blues to the final of the Europa Conference League, where they will face Real Betis. A victory in that competition or a sixth-place finish in the Premier League would secure Chelsea’s spot in next season’s Europa League.
However, Chelsea’s ownership situation could cause complications. The club is owned by BlueCo, a consortium that also holds a controlling stake in Ligue 1 club Strasbourg, who are currently sixth in the French top flight. With only two games remaining, Strasbourg are just one point behind Monaco for a Champions League spot. They are also level on goal difference with Nice, who currently occupy fourth place and would qualify for the Champions League qualifiers.
If Strasbourg win their remaining fixtures, they could secure Champions League qualification, which would create a conflict with UEFA’s multi-club ownership regulations. UEFA prohibits any ownership models involving multiple clubs competing in their tournaments. BlueCo has been in discussions with UEFA since January to restructure their ownership model to comply with the rules.
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One potential solution is for Strasbourg to be placed into a ‘blind trust’ to eliminate any conflicts between the clubs. Alternatively, BlueCo could reduce its stake in one of the clubs. Nottingham Forest’s owner Evangelos Marinakis has taken a similar approach, stepping down as a “person with significant control” of the company that owns Forest to comply with UEFA regulations, despite his continued support for the club.
Strasbourg are managed by English boss Liam Rosenior and have been in strong form since the March international break, including a notable victory over French champions PSG. If both Chelsea and Strasbourg end up competing in UEFA competitions next season, they would also be prohibited from making transfers between the two clubs.
