MU only ranked 8th in the Premier League but won tickets to the Europa League thanks to winning the FA Cup. (Photo: Reuters)

According to British media, MU is at risk of being banned from participating in the Europa League next season. The reason is because Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s INEOS group, which holds 27.7% of MU shares, has acquired Nice since 2019.

Last season, MU won the FA Cup and Nice ranked 5th in Ligue 1 and both won tickets to the Europa League. However, UEFA does not allow two clubs with the same owner to participate in the same European Cup tournament.

MU is only ranked 8th in the Premier League so it may be pushed down to the Conference League to comply with UEFA regulations. Meanwhile, Nice is given priority to participate in the Europa League due to its higher ranking in the domestic tournament.

Faced with the risk of MU losing its place in the Europa League, INEOS Group said: “We are aware of the situation of the two clubs and are negotiating with UEFA. We believe that there will be a suitable solution for next season in the European Cup.”

The basis for INEOS to negotiate with UEFA is that Sir Jim Ratcliffe does not hold more than 30% of MU’s shares, so this group is only a shareholder, not the club’s owner.

However, INEOS plans to invest 245 million pounds to upgrade MU’s facilities, thereby increasing their ownership rate to more than 30% and this is a violation of UEFA laws.