Drogheda United have been told they face expulsion from the 2025-26 Uefa Conference League – a decision they will contest at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (Cas).
Two clubs under the same ownership cannot compete in the same competition and the Irish Premier Division club are owned by the US-based Trivela Group, which also owns Danish side Silkeborg.
Both teams have qualified for the third-tier Uefa competition, this season won by Chelsea, thanks to lifting their country’s primary cup competition.
Uefa rules would mean the lower-ranked team being excluded from the competition, in this case Drogheda, who won the FAI Cup in November 2024 as a semi-professional side. Trivela bought Silkeborg shortly after.
Silkeborg’s seventh-place finish in the Danish league would outweigh Drogheda’s ninth place in the League of Ireland Premier Division.
Drogheda said in a statement on Thursday that the club are “devastated” by the developments and described the decision as “harsh and unfair”.
“The club can confirm that it has been notified by Uefa that we are facing expulsion from the Uefa Conference League due to Drogheda United and Silkeborg IF having both qualified for the same competition,” the statement read.
“This is despite significant efforts by the club to work constructively with Uefa to make necessary ownership and governance changes to allow both to compete over the past several months.
“We are devastated by this potential development and believe it would be both harsh and unfair, given the way brand new rule changes this year have been, in our view, inconsistently communicated and enforced across various clubs.”
The club said a Cas hearing will take place on Monday, with Drogheda adding they will be “fighting to do anything and everything” they can to secure their place in Europe.
Uefa advanced its assessment date to 1 March rather than June, but sources with knowledge of the situation say they did not receive the Uefa circular about the date being brought forward when it was sent to other clubs.
In response to a request from BBC Sport on Wednesday, Uefa said that decisions regarding multi-club ownership cases for the forthcoming season will be announced “in due course during June”.
European football’s governing body added that it would not comment on individual club cases until an official decision has been made.
Drogheda feel they have not been given time or support to be put into a blind trust to avoid a conflict of interest.
The situation is similar to that being experienced by Crystal Palace, who qualified for the Europa League by winning the FA Cup, the club’s only qualification into continental football in their 120-year history.
Uefa is also set to decide whether Palace have breached its rules on teams under one multi-club ownership structure competing in that competition.
Uefa’s final ruling will centre on American businessman John Textor, owner of Eagle Football – which holds a 43% stake in Palace.
Eagle Football also owns a 77% stake in French side Lyon, who – like Palace – have qualified for next season’s Europa League.
In recent seasons, Aston Villa, Manchester City and Manchester United have all been admitted into European competition despite initial concerns over multi-club ownership.
