INEOS is responding to fears that Manchester United could be banned from the Europa League next season

INEOS is confident Manchester United and Nice will be allowed to play in the Europa League next season.

United finished eighth in the Premier League and failed to qualify for Europe through the division’s qualifying places, but Erik ten Hag’s side won the FA Cup on Saturday afternoon.

The winner of the FA Cup, England’s oldest cup competition, qualifies for the Europa League, meaning United have booked their place in Europe’s secondary club competition.

The Reds won the Europa League under Jose Mourinho in 2017 and lost in the final of the competition against Villarreal in 2021 under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

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There were fears throughout the season that United could be banned from competing in the Europa League if French side Nice also qualified for the competition.

Sir Jim Ratcliffe bought Nice in 2019 and UEFA regulations state clubs that are owned by the same owners will not be allowed to compete in the same UEFA competitions.

Nice qualified for Europe’s second-tier competition by finishing fifth in Ligue 1, and normally UEFA rules would see United relegated to the UEFA Conference League, the third-tier competition, as the French club finished higher in that league.

However, United are understood to have held talks with UEFA officials since Ratcliffe’s investment was approved and have been assured the issue could be resolved.

INEOS issued a statement and said: “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.”

Although Ratcliffe owns 27.7% of United, the planned further investment would take their stake above the 30% threshold for multi-club ownership rules to apply.

United securing Europa League qualification by winning the FA Cup is a huge boost, as missing out on Europe would have caused a significant loss of revenue.

United have regularly insisted they will work within the constraints of financial fair play and the absence of European TV income has reportedly affected transfer activity.