EUROPA League
UEFA excludes Italy’s Juventus from European competition next season
Juventus will not play in Europe next season after being banned over breaches of UEFA’s Club Licensing and Financial Fair Play rules, while Premier League side Chelsea will pay 10 million euros for submitting incomplete financial information, Europe’s soccer governing body said on Friday.
The UEFA Club Financial Control Body (CFCB) opened a formal investigation into Juventus in December, months after the Italian side was among eight clubs that reached a settlement with UEFA for failing to comply with break-even requirements.
In a statement on Friday, European soccer’s governing body said it would “impose an additional financial contribution of 20 million euros on the club.
“Of this amount, 10 million euros is conditional and will only be enforced if the club’s annual financial statements for the financial years 2023, 2024 and 2025 do not comply with the accounting requirements,” UEFA added.
Juventus, who qualified for the Conference League playoff round after finishing seventh in Serie A last term, said they had waived the right to appeal that decision but maintained their innocence.
“We do not share the interpretation that has been given of our defense, and we remain firmly convinced of the legitimacy of our actions and the validity of our arguments. However, we have decided not to appeal this judgment,” Juventus Chairman Gianluca Ferrero said.
Ferrero added that Juventus’ decision not to appeal was in line with the policy they employed during a settlement with Italy’s soccer federation (FIGC) in May, where they opted to pay a fine of 718,000 euros and not challenge a 10-point penalty.
“As in that case, we prefer to put an end to the period of uncertainty and ensure full visibility and certainty to our internal and external stakeholders about the club’s participation in future international competitions,” Ferrero said.
“Lodging an appeal, possibly to other levels of judgement, with uncertain outcomes and timing, would increase the uncertainty with respect to our eventual participation in the 2024-25 UEFA Champions League.”
The Conference League qualifying rounds for the 2023-24 season started earlier this month.
CHELSEA SETTLEMENT
UEFA also reached a settlement with Chelsea over the submission of incomplete financial information, related to “historical transactions” between 2012-19 – prior to the London club’s acquisition by the Boehly-Clearlake consortium in 2022.
“Following the club’s sale in May 2022, the new ownership identified, and proactively reported to UEFA, instances of potentially incomplete financial reporting under the club’s previous ownership,” UEFA said.
“Following its assessment, including the applicable statute of limitations, the CFCB First Chamber entered into a settlement agreement with the club which has agreed to pay a financial contribution of 10 million euros to fully resolve the reported matters.”
Chelsea, who finished 12th in the Premier League following a chaotic campaign, will not be competing in Europe in 2023-24.
-Reuters
List of teams which have qualified for the next round of the Europa League after the league phase concluded on Thursday, ranked by table position:
Directly to the round of 16:
1. Olympique Lyonnais (France)
2. Aston Villa (England)
3. Midtjylland (Denmark)
4. Real Betis (Spain)
5. Porto (Portugal)
6. Braga (Portugal)
7. Freiburg (Germany)
8. AS Roma (Italy)
Knockout phase play-off places (seeded)
9. Genk (Belgium)
10. Bologna (Italy)
11. VfB Stuttgart (Germany)
12. Ferencvaros (Hungary)
13. Nottingham Forest (England)
14. Viktoria Plzen (Czech Republic)
15. Red Star Belgrade (Serbia)
16. Celta Vigo (Spain)
Knockout phase play-off places (unseeded)
17. PAOK (Greece)
18. Lille (France)
19. Fenerbahce (Turkey)
20. Panathinaikos (Greece)
21. Celtic (Scotland)
22. Ludogorets (Bulgaria)
23. Dinamo Zagreb (Croatia)
24. SK Brann (Norway)
-Reuters
UEFA Europa League – Aston Villa v RB Salzburg – Villa Park, Birmingham, Britain – January 29, 2026 Aston
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Israeli club Maccabi Tel Aviv will not accept any away fan tickets for their Europa League match at Aston Villa next month, even if local authorities reverse the decision to ban their supporters, they said on Monday.
The ban followed safety concerns raised by British Police, who cited potential protests outside Villa Park, following demonstrations at Israel’s recent World Cup qualifiers in Oslo and Udine.
“From hard lessons learned we have taken the decision to decline any allocation offered on behalf of away fans and our decision should be understood in that context,” Maccabi said in a statement.
“We hope that circumstances will change and look forward to being able to play in Birmingham in a sporting environment in the near future.”
Aston Villa announced the decision last week, saying they were following instructions from the Safety Advisory Group (SAG), who are responsible for issuing safety certificates for games at Villa Park.
West Midlands Police described the match as high risk, past incidents, including violent confrontations and hate crime offences involving Ajax and Maccabi Tel Aviv supporters ahead of a November 2024 game in Amsterdam.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar described the announcement as “shameful”.
Villa are third in the Europa League standings while Maccabi Tel Aviv are 30th after two rounds.
-Reuters
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Crystal Palace’s appeal against UEFA’s decision to drop them from the Europa League to the third-tier Conference League was dismissed by the Court of Arbitration for Sport on Monday.
UEFA demoted Palace while allowing Olympique Lyonnais to play in the Europa League as, at the time of assessment on March 1, the Eagle Football Group were majority owners of Lyon while their chairman, John Textor, owned a controlling stake in Palace.
Nottingham Forest, who finished seventh in the Premier League last season, will replace Palace in the Europa League.
“After considering the evidence, the panel found that John Textor, founder of Eagle Football Holdings, had shares in CPFC and OL and was a board member with decisive influence over both clubs at the time of UEFA’s assessment date,” the CAS said in a statement.
“The panel also dismissed the argument by CPFC that they received unfair treatment in comparison to Nottingham Forest and OL.”
Palace did not respond to a request for comment. Club chairman Steve Parish told reporters on Sunday that if Palace lost the appeal, they would “have to look if there’s any steps after that.”
The club, who qualified for the Europa League as FA Cup winners, appealed against UEFA’s decision last month.
The appeal came days before New York Jets co-owner Robert Wood “Woody” Johnson completed the purchase of Eagle Football Holdings’ stake in Palace.
Textor has also resigned from Lyon’s board of directors with Michele Kang appointed chairwoman and president.
As both Lyon and Palace had qualified for the Europa League, the French club were allowed to keep their place because they had finished higher in their respective league. Lyon finished sixth in Ligue 1 while Palace were 12th in the Premier League.
“Olympique Lyonnais welcomes today’s decision by the Court of Arbitration for Sport confirming its participation in the Europa League,” Lyon said in a statement.
Palace, who won the Community Shield on Sunday , beating Liverpool in a penalty shootout, are set to play in the Conference League’s qualifying playoff round later this month.
-Reuters
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