2 days ago
Drogheda United confirm UEFA set to deny club's entry to Conference League
DROGHEDA UNITED HAVE confirmed that they will be submitting an appeal to the Court for Arbitration for Sport (CAS) after UEFA notified them that they face expulsion from this season's UEFA Conference League.
In a statement released today, Drogheda say they are 'devastated' by the governing body's 'harsh and unfair' decision after what they described as months of negotiations to reach an acceptable proposal.
Advertisement
Drogheda also believe the rule changes from UEFA over the last year have been 'inconsistently communicated and enforced across various clubs.'
The Louth club are set to miss out on European action, and over €500,000 in prize money, due to multi-club ownership rules as they are owned by American investors Trivela Group and qualified for the Conference League after winning last season's FAI Cup. However, Silkeborg IF are also part of Trivela's structure and won the Danish cup equivalent. Their higher place finish in the domestic league also went in their favour.
'The club can confirm that it has been notified by UEFA that we are facing expulsion from the UEFA Conference League due to Drogheda United and Silkeborg IF having both qualified for the same competition,' a club statement began.
'This is despite significant efforts by the club to work constructively with UEFA to make necessary ownership and governance changes to allow both to compete over the past several months. We are devastated by this potential development and believe it would be both harsh and unfair, given the way brand new rule changes this year have been, in our view, inconsistently communicated and enforced across various clubs.
'We are now appealing the decision to the Court for Arbitration for Sport (CAS). Given we are now in the midst of an ongoing legal proceeding, and out of respect for that process, UEFA, the CFCB, and the overall aim of sporting integrity, there are limits to what we are able to share at this time.
'What we can say is this: we are—even at this late hour—fighting to do anything and everything we can to secure our players', supporters', and community's place in Europe. We have been in active dialogue with UEFA for months and have put forward a share disposition, trust arrangements, and various other undertakings consistent with recent CFCB precedent, only to have all of those efforts rebuffed.
'Nevertheless, we look forward to the opportunity to be heard at CAS and thank you in advance for your support.
