UEFA certify Aston Villa, Milan, Brighton to play in new season of Europeans club competitions

Agency Report

Aston Villa FC of England

UEFA, acknowledging adjustments in club ownership, on Friday certified some clubs, notably, Aston Villa of England, Brighton in the English Premier League, and Milan of Italy, which were having double ownership but have made adjustments, to participate in European matches in the new season.
It was explained that the ownership changes were enforced on the clubs to forestall conflict of interest in a situation of multi-club ownership rule of the football regulator in Europe.
It was pointed out that U.S. owners of Milan, RedBird Capital Partners, are also owners of Toulouse of France, owners of Aston Villa were also identified to have a stake in Vitoria Guimaraes of Portugal; also, Tony Bloom, owner of Brighton in England was identified to be the majority shareholder of Union Saint-Gilloise when he bought the Belgian side in 2018.

Brighton FC of England

UEFA in a statement on Friday, declared: “Following the implementation of significant changes by the clubs and their related investors, the CFCB First Chamber accepted the admission of the aforementioned clubs to the UEFA club competitions for the 2023/24 season.
“These changes substantially restrict the investors’ influence and decision-making power over more than one club, ensuring compliance with the multi-club ownership rule.”

Milan will be playing in the Champions League, while Brighton, Union and Toulouse will be playing in the Europa League. Aston Villa and Vitoria were said to be competing in the qualifying rounds of the Conference League.