Can two clubs owned by one person participate in the Champions League?

[Kalam001]

Please I need a confirmation on the information I recently received regarding two clubs owned by the same person not allowed to both participate in the UEFA Champions League which means that one club must have to participate and the other club not allowed to. Furthermore, I've heard that Girona FC and Manchester City are both owned by the same person. If this is the case, I'd like to know your thoughts on which club you would support in reference of the above information.

[Hirose UK]

The owners of Girona are City Football Group and Girona Football Group, while City Football Group is one of the companies developing in the football industry and has the largest stake in this industry.
This company is owned and founded by Sheikh Mansour but City Football Group only has 44.3% shares or you could say only half because half of the shares are owned by Girona Football Group itself.
In contrast to Manchester City, it is clear that 100% of the shares are held by the City Football Group and this means that all control and ownership rights of Manchester City are under the hands of Sheikh Mansour.

Indeed, UEFA regulations do not allow two clubs that have the same owner to take part in European competitions such as the UCL, but because Girona is not completely owned by the City Football Group, there could be considerations made by UEFA.
It just that I don't really know what it will be like next season because these two teams are really quite strong this season and have big chance of getting UCL tickets.

From this thread I remembered case that occurred in the past where UEFA allowed Leipzig and Salzburg to compete in the UCL and there was debate over the same ownership, namely Red Bull, an energy drink company.

[Abbatty]

Please I need a confirmation on the information I recently received regarding two clubs owned by the same person not allowed to both participate in the UEFA Champions League which means that one club must have to participate and the other club not allowed to. Furthermore, I've heard that Girona FC and Manchester City are both owned by the same person. If this is the case, I'd like to know your thoughts on which club you would support in reference of the above information.

I think both clubs will be able to participate in the UEFA champions league next season, based on some news from some reliable football analysts, the club only  need to connivence UEFA to grant permission, I can recall that the UEFA body have dealt with similar scenario in the past with Both RED BULL SALZBURG ( Austria) and RED BULL LEIPZIG (Germany) are owned by RED BULL Company and both clubs are allowed to participate in this season champions league. So I strongly believe if both club should qualify for the champions league next season UEFA will grant them permission to both participate in the next season champions league.

[Gozie51]

Please I need a confirmation on the information I recently received regarding two clubs owned by the same person not allowed to both participate in the UEFA Champions League which means that one club must have to participate and the other club not allowed to.

No. It is good you brought this question because it will educate many of us. This rule against dependence of clubs was adopted around 1998 and towards 2001 it became active. It prevents clubs that are directly owned and financed from one source to participate in UEFA competition.

I think the major reason for such role is to avoid match fixing. Imagine where the one of the two clubs is yet to qualify and they are to play each other, so what will happen in such instance, of course match fixing.

[Cryptomultiplier]

The case of Manchester city and Girona or Chelsea FC and Strasbourg is a clear example of how football club owners have been expanding their portfolio to acquire major stakes in other clubs and if we look at City and Girona which are both part of City Football Group (CFG), we must understand that they must comply with Uefa's rules on multi-club ownership before they are being allowed to play together in any league in Europe.

[tranthidung]

Please I need a confirmation on the information I recently received regarding two clubs owned by the same person not allowed to both participate in the UEFA Champions League which means that one club must have to participate and the other club not allowed to. Furthermore, I've heard that Girona FC and Manchester City are both owned by the same person. If this is the case, I'd like to know your thoughts on which club you would support in reference of the above information.

According to news a few months ago, it was still not allowed but UEFA are considering to relax their restrictions on it a little bit.

• UEFA could relax restrictions on clubs with same owners in Champions League.
• Same news but on Reuters
  

UEFA has their document that says it is not allowed and I believe this idea is still in consideration, not enforced officially yet. They have cumbersome structures so I don't expect this idea will be pratically applied soon.

• Article 5 Integrity of the competition / multi-club ownership

[Sunderland]

UEFA will not provide any official statement regarding this matter, not until Mancity and Girona are qualified for the UCL in the next season.
But Im sure both of the teams will be play in the UCL 2024/2025, Mancity and Girona will find a legal loophole to eligible for the event.
Also having 44% stake in Girona should be not classified as conflict of interest and Girona already had the UEFA license since last year.

[STT]

44% seems a very large amount to own, its not in theory 'the owner' but I could understand them excluding a club on that basis of a conflict of interest.   However I imagine the clubs will go ahead unimpeded because any adjustment required in ownership % could be done on request, it would only need a sale to a friendly partner of that large holder.  Because of that I would guess it wont be used as a reason to exclude the clubs from playing against each other without actual evidence of a genuine concern as to conflict of interest etc.

[Ruttoshi]

As stated by @tranthidung, it is the latest updates that rules saying such clubs cannot participate in European competitions has been relaxed and by 2023/2024 season any of such clubs would partake in the competitions, if they qualify because they have seen it that some investors have shares in two clubs, using football as their investment.

We will see to this by next season because I know that it is possible for two clubs own by the same company to qualify this season.

[alani123]

It would be interesting to see if other teams also voice opinions on this.
It's a serious issue to have conflicts of interests in leagues but then again... While 44% might not be a majority stake, it is a very large stake nevertheless and a lot of influence could be coming by someone who owns that big of a stake in a team.

If there is a dispute regarding this it would be good to have further clarification on such rules.
Some might say that free market principles should allow owners to buy stakes at whatever tram they have, but imo leagues should also be able to apply rules such this one because some limitations make sense.

[Onyeeze]

Please I need a confirmation on the information I recently received regarding two clubs owned by the same person not allowed to both participate in the UEFA Champions League which means that one club must have to participate and the other club not allowed to. Furthermore, I've heard that Girona FC and Manchester City are both owned by the same person. If this is the case, I'd like to know your thoughts on which club you would support in reference of the above information.

It's possible that if two clubs own by one person can participate because the clubs will not bear the same identity or relate to each other, one person can own a two company but it will be managed by different person and except that the own of the two companies inform you that the two companies belong to them they will not go, so what I'm telling you is that you have to know that management will determine the exposure of the two, and even in clubs if the moderators of teams noticed that a two clubs belong to person I don't think that they will have anything to do because the two is of business and they are paying the entitlement

[iBaba]

No. It is good you brought this question because it will educate many of us. This rule against dependence of clubs was adopted around 1998 and towards 2001 it became active. It prevents clubs that are directly owned and financed from one source to participate in UEFA competition.

I think the major reason for such role is to avoid match fixing. Imagine where the one of the two clubs is yet to qualify and they are to play each other, so what will happen in such instance, of course match fixing.

This is why I love football. It is because amidst the fact that humans cannot run away from errors that are as a result of interests, they still try as much as possible to look critically and legislate rules that will ensure that there is sanity in the game and a sense of fair play in the system as an entirety.

This rule on clubs owned by same entities not allowed to participate in champions league was a well-thought out idea and this is because although the both teams will be run by different management and may have different orientations as well as they may be very competitive to one another, that is not the only issue.  Another issue is that both teams can be easily bias when they are fixtured in the same pitch.

For instance, one club can decide to make it easier for the other club to win because the owner must have arranged the plan to the advantage of the latter club and reasons to that can be due to when one of the club is seen as more promising to the other,  that bias can come in immediately to favour one another.

Another instance is when they play same table, they can plan on ways to sabotage other clubs and even when that may seem incredibly difficult to do, they can still bring about that insecurity and fear in the minds of the other teams.

[Ryu_Ar1]

As far as I know, at this time the majority of shares owned by Girona have now been acquired by the City Football Group (CFG) which is indirectly like a family with Manchester City now because it is in the same shade but even so if in the end Girona does qualify for the Champions League I think they can still play there even though there is Manchester City because in the end things like this also often happen to Salzburg and Leipzig which are actually in the same shade too, namely Red Bull although there may be a slight difference but still they are under the same supervision so that for the problems of Manchester City and Girona this will not be much different. But this is just my opinion, it could be wrong but I think it will be allowed.

[rdluffy]

Theoretically, and if you follow the rules, the two teams could not play in the same edition
But I'll bet anyone that if the two teams qualify (they will certainly qualify), UEFA will allow it with some loophole or other stuff, perhaps even separating the teams and not allowing them to face each other until a possible final, but they will certainly allow the two teams

The most plausible loophole is to claim that it's not the same 100% owner of both teams, that someone else has a majority stake, etc
Or they could even do some political maneuvering within the teams to make it possible to play in the UCL

[Casdinyard]

Please I need a confirmation on the information I recently received regarding two clubs owned by the same person not allowed to both participate in the UEFA Champions League which means that one club must have to participate and the other club not allowed to.

No. It is good you brought this question because it will educate many of us. This rule against dependence of clubs was adopted around 1998 and towards 2001 it became active. It prevents clubs that are directly owned and financed from one source to participate in UEFA competition.

I think the major reason for such role is to avoid match fixing. Imagine where the one of the two clubs is yet to qualify and they are to play each other, so what will happen in such instance, of course match fixing.

I'm a little confused. Does the ruling state that both teams financed by a single entity couldn't join the UEFA, or will the league allow one of them to join it only? Plus what could be the reason for this ruling in the first place? I don't think there's much effect that it could cause towards the game other than the fact that there would now be more stakes to claim in major football leagues especially since you have more than one team on your payroll.

I don't think the monopoly of team would be a massive problem too, for all I care this will mean that even players from not-so-respected teams could get the chance to payments as good as those in the upper echelon, get brand deals and sponsorships, and be able to finance their lifestyles necessary to fare well in the game. Teams that don't get bought out could sell their slots to more capable ones and give players a better viewing experience, similar to what they are doing in ESports titles like Valorant and League of Legends at the moment.

I don't think there's something wrong with allowing teams financed by a single source into the UEFA really, it doesn't tarnish the reputation of the league in the first place, it allows more people to enjoy the game and more players to show their prowess, and most of all, it's going to keep the game of football alive!

[rdluffy]

I'm a little confused. Does the ruling state that both teams financed by a single entity couldn't join the UEFA, or will the league allow one of them to join it only? Plus what could be the reason for this ruling in the first place? I don't think there's much effect that it could cause towards the game other than the fact that there would now be more stakes to claim in major football leagues especially since you have more than one team on your payroll.

The UEFA rules state the following:

5.02 - If two or more clubs fail to meet the criteria aimed at ensuring the integrity of the competition, only one of them may be admitted to a UEFA club competition, in accordance with the following criteria (applicable in descending order):

Source

So only 1 team could participate

Take a look at the rules in the link above, what is most worrying in these cases are possible influences to manipulate results

Imagine a scenario where 2 teams are owned by the same owner. Team A and team B, now imagine that a result for team A can directly affect team B, whether it's with qualification, a place in the round of 16, or even a direct confrontation
What should you do in this situation and how can you guarantee that the team's owner won't influence the result to benefit both teams?

[Die_empty]

Take a look at the rules in the link above, what is most worrying in these cases are possible influences to manipulate results

Imagine a scenario where 2 teams are owned by the same owner. Team A and team B, now imagine that a result for team A can directly affect team B, whether it's with qualification, a place in the round of 16, or even a direct confrontation
What should you do in this situation and how can you guarantee that the team's owner won't influence the result to benefit both teams?

These rules are important to sustain the integrity of UEFA competition. Without these rules, rich club owners can even feature more than one club which will increase their chances of winning these UEFA-organised competitions. These club owners will definitely influence the outcome of the games that include clubs they own. I read that these football regulatory organisations want to relax these rules. I am comfortable with these rules but UEFA can still look into these rules because there have been a wise of businesses that are investing in different clubs. Denying a club that has worked so hard to get to the Champions League the opportunity to compete because of its ownership will be a great disservice to the players and coaching crew.         

[Yogee]

[....]
I don't think there's something wrong with allowing teams financed by a single source into the UEFA really, it doesn't tarnish the reputation of the league in the first place, it allows more people to enjoy the game and more players to show their prowess, and most of all, it's going to keep the game of football alive!

That's quite a naive thinking. How do you think football fans would look at the competition between two sworn rivals and a competition between two sister clubs? The intensity of the game would be different at the very least. Another thing is that there will always be rumors of a rigged game that would affect the league's reputation. They don't want any of that so it's better to avoid it from ever happening.