Chelsea might be unable to partake in the UEFA Champions League next season, as RC Strasbourg climb into fourth place on Ligue 1 standings. Under Liam Rosenior, their brilliant performances are enticing. However, this has posed a troublesome equation for the French side’s sister club Chelsea.
After beating Paris Saint-Germain 2-1 at home over the weekend, Strasbourg could clinch a place in the Champions League. Meanwhile, the Blues are fifth in the Premier League with 60 points. A few matches are left before the season concludes, and they are chasing European spots along with several other teams.
However, chances are the Blues might not play in the UCL next season, even if they did qualify. One rule in UEFA’s multi-club ownership stipulates that both clubs with the same owner cannot play in the same European competition. If both Chelsea and Strasbourg were to qualify for the mainstream Champions League, then only the better-placed domestic club would be allowed entry. This would relegate the other club (potentially Chelsea) to the Europa League.
The speed that Strasbourg is going at is impressive, and it’s mainly thanks to the investment by BlueCo, who also own Chelsea. The Blues can’t think about these potential problems just yet though. They have to face the Liverpool, newly-crowned champions of the Premier League, to further their chances of even making it into the Champions League.
How Chelsea’s Owners BlueCo Could Fix The Issue
BlueCo have a couple of recent cases to look at, if they need a workaround for UEFA’s rules regarding a conflict of interest around Chelsea and Strasbourg. A similar situation affected Manchester City and Girona, who have the same owner. Manchester United and Nice also have the same owner, but played in Europa League.
In these cases, the owner’s shareholdings in one club were placed under independent blind trusts to avoid flouting UEFA rules. So, a similar option would be available for BlueCo. They can place their shares in Strasbourg in a blind trust for the next season. Any Chelsea-affiliated directors would necessarily leave the Strasbourg board for the trust period.
Also, all player transfers between these two clubs would be halted. Any earlier agreements will be accepted, though. In this case, Chelsea and Strasbourg already have a deal regarding defender Mamadou Sarr for €14 million, and it would not be affected by the blind trust.
