Chelsea’s route into next season’s Champions League has come under the microscope amid questions from rival fans over whether the efforts of a club, owned by Chelsea’s multi-club group BlueCo, at the end of last season were legitimate.
The topic of multi-club ownership was the subject of intense scrutiny by the Court of Arbitration for Sport this week as Crystal Palace were demoted from the Europa League to Europe’s third-tier competition, the Conference League, due to their connection with Lyon.
Like Palace, Chelsea – who booked their place in the Champions League after finishing fourth in the Premier League last season – are also linked to a French club, Strasbourg.
The French side were well in the running to qualify for Europe’s premier competition after a strong campaign, only to fall apart at the final hurdle.
They lost against Angers and Le Havre respectively, immediately after beating the all-conquering Paris Saint Germain.
UEFA’s rules dictate that clubs owned by the same owner are not allowed to compete in the same competition. Strasbourg and Chelsea are owned by US firm Clearlake Capital.
Had Strasbourg held onto their third place position – which they had occupied for most of the season – they would have qualified for the Champions League at the detriment of Chelsea because they finished higher in their domestic league.
As a result, those defeats have been called into question, with sceptical fans casting doubt as to the effort of the Strasbourg team knowing the huge ramifications that would have been cast on Chelsea had they continued their course.
‘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.’
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.
Outraged Palace officials appealed the decision in their own case 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.
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.
