Milan, UEFA admits Europa League ban was wrong
On June, UEFA decided to ban AC Milan from Europa League for one season, a ruling that was later overturned by CAS.
A few months ago UEFA decided to ban AC Milan from participating in Europa League for one season. The decision was a result of the Rossoneri having breached the Financial Fair Play rules and the economic stability of the club was called into question.
An unexpected ruling by UEFA’s Club Financial Control Body that nearly caused a players exodus at the time. Many Rossoneri stars, unclear on the future of the club, were considering their departure and a few had even asked to be sold, as revealed latter by the new management.
However when the Red and Blacks appealed the decision at the Court of Arbitration for Sport of Lausanne, this time the ruling was in their favor. CAS overturned the initial decision and the Rossoneri were readmitted to Europa League.
The CAS panel rejected AC Milan’s request to order UEFA to enter into a settlement agreement but acknowledged that the decision of the adjudicatory chamber of the UEFA Club Financial Control Body (CFCB) to exclude AC Milan from the UEFA club competition was not proportionate.
The Panel considered that some important elements have not been properly assessed by the adjudicatory chamber, or could not be properly assessed at the moment when the appealed decision was rendered, and noted in particular that the current financial situation of the club was now better, following the recent change in the club’s ownership.
Yesterday, the reasons that led CAS to cancel AC Milan’s ban from Europa League were finally disclosed. While today, Yves Wehrli, a member of UEFA’s investigative chamber admitted that UEFA’s initial decision was wrong: “Probably, if we were based on the current situation, we would have made a different decision“. Wehrli refers to the recent change of ownership at Milan, now in the hands of the American fund Elliott.
