Chelsea could have fallen foul to the same fate as Crystal Palace and been kicked out of the Champions League, with fans questioning over whether a club’s efforts in their owners’ multi-club ownership group at the end of the season were legit.
The Blues booked their place back in next season’s Champions League after finishing fourth in the Premier League in Enzo Maresca’s first season in charge, and can look forward to another year in Europe’s premier competition.
Palace, meanwhile, thought they had qualified for the Europa League when they won the FA Cup final against Manchester City, but faced a battle to cling onto that spot and lost their appeal against being kicked out this week.
Palace will play in the Conference League this season after UEFA ruled that they had breached their rules on multi-club ownership.
Outraged Palace officials appealed the decision in a gruelling, 10-hour session at the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne on Friday.
CAS lawyers had promised to hand down a verdict by close of play on Monday. And they have subsequently sided with the governing body, in what will be a devastating blow to the FA Cup winners and their fans and a decision that could cost Palace up to £20million in lost revenue. It is also likely to be welcomed at the City Ground, with the verdict confirmation that Nottingham Forest will take Palace’s place.
Chelsea faced being kicked out of the Champions League until the final weeks of the season
Strasbourg, who are in the same multi-club ownership group as the Blues, nearly qualified for the competition
Palace argued that while John Textor’s firm – which had also been involved with Lyon – held a 43 per cent stake in the club, it only afforded him 25 per cent of the voting rights and that chairman Steve Parish, along with silent partners Josh Harris and David Blitzer, called the shots with their 75 per cent. As such, they said, Textor had no influence at Selhurst Park.
They also claimed that double standards were in play, stating that sides in the European Club Association (ECA) were told that those with potential MCO issues could go beyond UEFA’s March 1 deadline to submit their paperwork.
Essentially, clubs with the same owners cannot compete in the same competition – and that is exactly what Chelsea and French side Strasbourg have.
The Blues were taken over by BlueCo in May 2022, who bought the London-based side from Russian businessman Roman Abramovic. The group, which includes Clearlake Capital, is led by Todd Boehly.
A little over a year later, meanwhile, in 2023, Ligue 1 side Strasbourg were bought by BlueCo too, and became part of a multi-club ownership portfolio alongside the Blues.
Therefore, the two teams seemingly would not have been able to play in the same competition. And that was at risk of happening until right at the end of the Ligue 1 season.
Strasbourg were in the running for a Champions League spot up up until the end of the campaign, and would have achieved that if they had won their last two matches, which they lost against Angers and Le Havre respectively, right after they had beaten PSG.
If they had come third, they would have ousted Chelsea’s participation in the Champions League as a result of finishing higher in their domestic league, meaning the Blues would have had to have settled for a spot in the Europa League.
Todd Boehly is part of the ownership group that bought Chelsea in 2022 and the French side a year later
Crystal Palace were kicked out of the Europa League because John Textor had involvement in both them and Lyon
Strasbourg’s end to the season has left a number of fans raising conspiracy theories over whether Strasbourg legitimately lost their final two matches of the campaign. There is no evidence to suggest that was the case.
‘Strasbourg conveniently lose two games to weak opposition to allow Chelsea entrance to the Champions League,’ one fan posted on X. ‘Not dodgy at all. Nope.’
Another added: ‘Needs investigation. Last match Strasbourg lost in Ligue 1 was Feb 2. 12 games without loss then suddenly lost final two games of the season to allow sister club Chelsea in the CL.’
A third posted: ‘After beating PSG the best team in Europe, Strasbourg ‘coincidentally’ lost to relegation fodders to avoid UCL football. Chelsea have a special place in hell.’
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Aston Villa, meanwhile, would have replaced Chelsea. The Villans missed out on qualifying for the Champions League for the second year in a row when they lost against Manchester United on the final day of the season, themselves having to settle for the Europa League.
The revelation will leave Villa fans gutted – but that may turn to frustration when they realise the manner of how the decisive penalty came about in the 98th minute of the final game.
Former Norwich and Nottingham Forest man Andrew Omobamidele was sent off after being shown a second yellow card, having fouled Rassoul Ndiaye in the box in an awful challenge.
Abdoulaye Toure chipped in a cool penalty to earn Le Havre the three points, but the result would not have changed much – Strasbourg would have finished sixth rather than seventh. Many fans did, though, raise an eyebrow and the last two defeats of the season – which majorly benefitted Chelsea.