2 days ago
Drogheda United appeal UEFA expulsion to Court of Arbitration
Drogheda United
are appealing their expulsion from the Uefa Conference League to the Court for Arbitration for Sport.
As it stands, Drogheda have been excluded from Tuesday's Uefa Conference League first round qualifier draw, ahead of the opening fixtures in July, because The Trivela Group, a US investment firm, owns a majority stake in the Louth club and Swedish side Silkeborg IF.
Under Uefa laws 'no individual or legal entity' can control two teams competing in the same European competition.
Silkeborg secured their place over Kevin Doherty's side as they finished higher in the Swedish league last season than Drogheda's ninth-placed finish in the League of Ireland.
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As a result, Drogheda are set to lose out on a minimum €525,000 in Uefa prize money, despite qualifying for the Conference League by beating Derry City in the FAI Cup final last November.
Neither Derry nor any other Irish club can replace Drogheda, and join Shamrock Rovers and St Patrick's Athletic in Tuesday's draw as they missed the deadline for a Uefa licence.
'The club can confirm that it has been notified by Uefa that we are facing expulsion from the Conference League due to Drogheda United and Silkeborg IF having both qualified for the same competition,' read a Drogheda statement.
'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.'
Ben Boycott, the Alabama-based founder of Trivela, is listed as co-chairman of Drogheda, Silkeborg and the English club Walsall.
Manchester United co-owners Ineos were allowed place ownership of their French club Nice into a blind trust last season, which relieved them of operational control when both teams featured in the 2025 Europa League.
The Abu Dhabi-owned City Group were allowed to enter Manchester City and Girona in last season's Champions League after Uefa were satisfied they had made 'significant changes to the ownership, governance, and financial support' of the Spanish club.
Evangelos Marinakis placed his majority shareholding in Nottingham Forest into a blind trust before the March 1st deadline after his Greek club Olympiakos qualified for the Champions League.
However, when Forest finished seventh in the Premier League, qualifying for the Conference League instead, the shipping magnate reappeared as the club owner.
Forest also complained to Uefa last week about American businessman John Textor owning Lyon and Crystal Palace, seeking the FA Cup winners removal from the Europa League.
Palace missed the deadline to put Textor's shares into a blind trust but Uefa were subsequently convinced that the former pro-skateboarder's 43 per cent stake in Londoners does not come with a 'decisive influence' in the running of the club.
Boycott and Drogheda CEO Rian Wogan's recent meeting with Uefa officials in Nyon, Switzerland did not prove as successful.
