New rules give clubs longer to sort out MCO issues
Palace lost Europa League place despite Cas appeal
Uefa is planning to give clubs more time to resolve potential multi-club ownership (MCO) issues next season following the controversy that led to Crystal Palace being expelled from the Europa League last summer.
In a proposed change to its regulations discussed with elite clubs at last week’s meeting of the newly named European Football Clubs in Rome, Uefa is set to relax the 1 March deadline, which Palace failed to meet last season in an oversight that led to the FA Cup winners losing their Europa League place to Nottingham Forest.
Under the new rules any club in contention for European qualification the following season would still be required to highlight any potential MCO issues to Uefa by 1 March, but would then be given additional time at the end of the season to resolve any problems if multiple clubs in the same ownership group have qualified for the same competition.
