It was this Tuesday the real start of the European Cups, season 2025-2026. The draw for the first preliminary laps has just been carried out. And the Irish Drogheda United club, unfortunately for him, does not appear.
The winner of the Irish Cup had however won the right to compete in the conference league. But the formation of the county of Lurth, in the northeast of the country, is the victim of the UEFA regulation concerning the multi-ownership.
Drogheda United belongs to the Trivela Group, which also owns the Danish club Silkeborg. For questions of conflict of interest, UEFA is opposed to the presence of two clubs controlled by the same owner. It was Silkeborg who was kept, to the Dam of Drogheda, whose appeal before the Arbitral Tribunal of Sport (TAS) was rejected on Monday, on the eve of the draw.
OL and Crystal Palace in the same case
This news can worry Olympique Lyonnais and Crystal Palace. The two clubs are qualified for the group stage of the Europa League, and they both belong to the Eagle Football Galaxy, the group of John Textor.
If UEFA follows its logic, it should ban one of the two competitions in the competition. But which one? In general, UEFA gives priority to the club that finished the best classified in its championship. It would therefore be OL, 6th in Ligue 1, while Crystal Palace, 12th in Premier League, qualified after its FA Cup victory against Man City. A feat that may not be followed by European epic …
