Chelsea and Strasbourg will need to show a clear separation if both reach next season’s Champions League as the success of French club poses its big brother a headache
Liam Rosenior continues to work his magic at Strasbourg with Friday night’s 4-2 win at home to Lyon moving them to within a point of the Champions League. But should the Ligue 1 club seal a place in UEFA’s top competition, sacrifices might need to be made if Chelsea return too – owing to increasingly complex rules around multi-club ownership.
BlueCo, Chelsea’s parent company, completed a takeover of Strasbourg last year that caused ructions among the French side’s supporters.
And despite their success under Rosenior in recent months, fans remain divided on the ownership with ultras continuing to protest as recently last month because they fear the club’s history is at risk by potentially becoming a development club for young Chelsea players.
Both will be allowed to compete in the same competition once a number of conditions set out by UEFA are met – although that would likely include a transfer ban between the clubs. Goalkeeper Djordje Petrovic and Brazilian Andrey Santos are currently on loan in Alsace from Chelsea, while Diego Moreira signed permanently.
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UEFA regulations say that no single entity can have “control or influence” over more than one club participating in one of their club competitions. It is standard for the governing body to launch an investigation in the ownership and off-field structures at both clubs in such instances.
Directors cannot be involved at both clubs and in Chelsea and Strasbourg’s case one might need to have a third-party placed in charge during the period where they are in the same competition. They may also be blocked from using any shared data on players and recruitment that is currently available to both clubs.
Both RB Salzburg and Leipzig have been through the process in recent years, alongside Manchester City and Girona this season while Manchester United and Nice faced investigation with both sides in the Europa League.
Following an investigation into the respective ownership models, UEFA said that after “the implementation of significant changes by the concerned investors” all clubs were permitted to play.
Should Chelsea, who sit fourth in the Premier League table, and Strasbourg end up in different UEFA competitions next season there is unlikely to be any need for structural changes behind the scenes at eight club.
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