Drogheda United’s hopes of a ruling in their favour over playing in the UEFA Conference League have been dashed by a ruling from the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
It is a real blow for the club, which qualified by winning last season’s Sports Direct FAI Cup, but whose owners, Trivela Group, subsequently bought Danish side Silkeborg.
They also qualified for the Conference League, but finished higher in their League than Drogheda and thus are deemed the higher-ranking side in the same ownership in the same competition and get the nod.
Much was made of how this could be a case of one law for the rich and another for the less fortunate, with Manchester City, Manchester United, and Aston Villa also part of complex multi-club ownership models.
Each of them was involved in the same European competition as others in the same ownership, Girona, Nice and Maltese club Vitoria but changes to the structures of each ownership model were made that were accepted by UEFA.
The Drogheda case fell on the fact that the deadline for such changes had been moved forward to March from June. At the time of the shift, Silkeborg looked unlikely to qualify for Europe, and in fact only did so at the very last minute at the start of this month.
The Trivela Group’s appeal was based on the fact that the timing change had been brought forward to make it easier for UEFA but there was no mitigation being allowed that made it so much harder for clubs, especially in the first year, one of transition.
Crystal Palace from the English Premier League are in a similar position with the English Club in the same ownership as Lyon, who win the tie breaker between those two clubs.
A decision on their participation is still outstanding. Efforts are being made to change the ownership, but if they are allowed to play, it might yet give Drogheda one last chance, though the likelihood is that they will have changed their status to comply.
There is a sad irony in that the final of this year’s competition will be played at the home of Red Bull Leipzig, perhaps the most obvious European club under a shared ownership with Red Bull Salzburg.
“We strongly disagree with this decision, and had hoped and believed that the principles of fairness and common sense would prevail,” Drogheda United said in a statement last night.
“After months of engagement, constructive dialogue, countless hours of legal preparation, and multiple proposals based on frameworks that have been accepted in the past, we have come up short.”
“Despite genuine and vocal support across the football world, the ruling did not fall in our favour. We are heartbroken by the outcome.”
“Rules should protect opportunity, not prevent it, especially for community-driven clubs like ours who fight every day to punch above their weight.”
“Nevertheless, we accept responsibility. And we’re sorry. But while we are saddened, we are also emboldened.”
“We will not let this setback define us. Instead, we will use it as fuel. Our club has never been handed anything and we’ve earned every inch through grit, resilience, and unity. And we will continue to do so.”
It is not yet clear who will replace Drogheda in the draw next week but it will not be another League of ireland club as none had applied for a UEFA license given this was not seen as a potential issue before that deadline passed.
The question that now remains is whether a ball was dropped by the FAI or the Trivela Group in responding in time to notifications from UEFA about an earlier deadline for making alternative ownership arrangements to comply with UEFA regulations, though ultimately that would not have prevented the Group buying their 80% stake in the Danish club before the deadline.
The financial loss to not being involved in Europe is a headline figure of €500,000 though that would have been reduced significantly by the cost of competing, especially if the draw had necessitated complex travel arrangements.
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It is a blow to the fans, the players and the club but it should not sour them on the new ownership group who have committed to a longer term development of the club, including a new home, and allowed them to go professional for the first time.
Europe is great but might only have been a one and done appearance.
If changes are allowed for Crystal Palace though that would be grossly unfair and given that the changed deadlines are in the first year, Drogheda should be allowed to go forward. The fact that the CAS decision was 2-1 rather than a unanimous one might yet give hope in those circumstances.
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