Ineos responds to Manchester United’s Europa League ban fears

Manchester United qualified for next season’s Europa League by winning the FA Cup on Saturday, beating rivals Man City 2-1 at Wembley with their best performance of the season.

It was a disappointing campaign in terms of form in the Premier League, with United finishing eighth. This meant that it looked like a failure to qualify for any of the UEFA competitions. For the media, this meant another stick to beat Erik ten Hag with…

There were fears United could be banned from competing in the Europa League, with Ligue 1 side OGC Nice (also owned by Sir Jim Ratcliffe) also qualified for the same competition.

Sir Jim Ratcliffe has owned Nice since 2019 and UEFA rules that clubs owned by the same owners will not be allowed to compete in the same UEFA competition.

United are understood to have held talks with UEFA since Ratcliffe’s investment was signed off and are understood to be satisfied the issue could be resolved.

A statement from Ineos says (via Manchester Evening News): “We are aware of the position of the two clubs and are in direct dialogue with UEFA. We are convinced that we have a solution for next season in Europe.”

In an ideal world for Ratcliffe and UEFA, United would be in the Champions League. Nice can settle for second best, because that’s what it is in this situation.

Nice finished fifth in Ligue 1 after a strong start to the 2023/24 campaign. They looked like potential title contenders before falling off a cliff after Christmas.

Ratcliffe could be hoping for a United vs Nice final next season. That would be something…

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