Ineos confident of Man Utd-Nice Europa League solution

Ineos is “confident” of finding a solution that allows Manchester United and Nice to compete in next season’s Europa League.

Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s Ineos company owns a 27.7% stake in United and are in control of the club’s football operations, while they completed a takeover of French club Nice in 2019.

Uefa rules restrict the influence any organisation can have over more than one club in the same competition.

An independent panel will rule on the matter before next season’s competition starts in the middle of July with the qualifying rounds.

Uefa’s regulations meant Belgian club Union Saint-Gilloise had to alter its ownership structure last season to allow it to compete in the Europa League alongside Brighton, whose owner Tony Bloom had been a pivotal figure for both clubs.

Aston Villa and Portuguese side Vitoria Guimaraes faced the same scenario in the Europa Conference League.

It is also a situation Manchester City and Spanish side Girona will have to address this summer given they are both part of the City Football Group and have qualified for next season’s Champions League.

If a solution is not found United would have to drop into the Conference League as they finished lower in the Premier League last season than fifth-placed Nice did in Ligue 1.

However Ineos is confident that scenario will be avoided.

“We are aware of the position of both clubs and are in direct dialogue with Uefa,” it said.

“We are confident we have a route forward for next season in Europe.”

Ineos also owns Swiss Super League club FC Lausanne-Sport, but they have not qualified for European competition.