Latest news with #SilkeborgIF
The 42
4 days ago
- Business
- The 42
FAI says they flagged European concerns with Drogheda owners last November
THE FAI SAYS it informed Drogheda United owners Trivela Group of concerns regarding the League of Ireland's club participation in the UEFA Conference League as soon as they were notified of the American investment firm's takeover of Silkeborg on 19 November last year. A report in the Irish Examiner last night stated that UEFA wrote to the FAI last October to inform them about changes to the multi-club ownership deadline procedure for European competition. Trivela are 100% owners of Drogheda and have an 80% stake in Silkeborg. Advertisement It was the manner of the communication of those changes – moving the deadline forward from June to March this year – that formed the basis of Drogheda's appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport after they had been excluded following the Danish club's qualification. In the statement sent to The 42, the FAI pointed out that Trivela did not own Silkeborg at the time of the initial UEFA Circular on 7 October and 'this was not sent by the FAI to the club.' Along with their Danish counterparts DBU, the FAI confirmed they informed UEFA 'of the multi-club ownership scenario regarding Drogheda United FC and Silkeborg IF via the standard procedures.' Drogheda's place in tomorrow's draw for the second qualifying round has been taken by Shamrock Rovers who also qualified for Europe's third tier club competition, and the FAI have also confirmed that all clubs in the men's Premier Division had been invited by the association to apply for a European licence but that 'but only the four clubs who qualified on sporting merit completed the process.' The statement in full is below: 'At the time of publication of the UEFA Circular in question on 7 October 2024, Drogheda United FC's ownership group did not own Silkeborg IF therefore this UEFA Circular was not sent by the FAI to the Club. When the FAI were notified of Trivela Group's takeover of Silkeborg IF on 19 November 2024, the FAI informed the Trivela Group of our concerns regarding Drogheda United FC's participation the UEFA Conference League should Silkeborg IF qualify for the tournament due to UEFA's Multi-Club Ownership Regulations. UEFA were informed of the multi-club ownership scenario regarding Drogheda United FC and Silkeborg IF via the standard procedures by both the FAI and DBU. All ten Men's Premier Division teams were invited by the FAI to apply for a UEFA Licence in December but only the four clubs who qualified on sporting merit completed the process. On 7 May 2025 the awarding of UEFA Licences was announced by the FAI following the completion of the Independent Licensing Committee review.'
Irish Times
5 days ago
- Business
- Irish Times
Drogheda United's expulsion from Conference League confirmed as court appeal fails
Drogheda United have lost their appeal against their expulsion from the Uefa Conference League to the Court for Arbitration for Sport. Drogheda have been excluded from Tuesday's Uefa Conference League first round qualifier draw, ahead of the opening fixtures in July, because The Trivela Group, a US investment firm, owns a majority stake in the Louth club and Danish side Silkeborg IF. Under Uefa laws 'no individual or legal entity' can control two teams competing in the same European competition. Silkeborg secured their place over Kevin Doherty's side as they finished higher in the Danish league last season than Drogheda's ninth-placed finish in the League of Ireland. READ MORE 'It is with great heartbreak and disbelief that we inform you we have lost our appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport,' the club said in a statement. 'After months of engagement, constructive dialogue, countless hours of legal preparation, and multiple proposals based on frameworks that have been accepted in the past, we have come up short. Despite genuine and vocal support across the football world, the ruling did not fall in our favour. We are heartbroken by the outcome.' As a result, Drogheda are set to lose out on a minimum €525,000 in Uefa prize money, despite qualifying for the Conference League by beating Derry City in the FAI Cup final last November. Neither Derry nor any other Irish club can replace Drogheda, and join Shamrock Rovers and St Patrick's Athletic in Tuesday's draw as they missed the deadline for a Uefa licence.
Irish Times
13-06-2025
- Business
- Irish Times
Drogheda the losers as owner falls foul of Uefa rules on multi-club ownership
Drogheda United qualified for the Uefa Conference League by winning the FAI Cup on November 10th. Eight days later, it was confirmed that their US owner, The Trivela Group, had taken an 80 per cent stake in Danish club Silkeborg IF. On Tuesday, Drogheda were removed from next Tuesday's Conference League qualifier draw as Uefa rules state that 'no individual or legal entity' can control two teams competing in the same European competition. Trivela missed the March 1st deadline to show that it does not control both Drogheda and Silkeborg (in fact, it does). This can be seen as an administrative failing, although Silkeborg only qualified for Europe last month. Better to be safe than sorry. Evangelos Marinakis temporarily placed his majority shareholding of Nottingham Forest in a blind trust when his Greek club Olympiakos qualified for the Champions League. READ MORE When Forest finished seventh in the Premier League, and only qualified for the Conference League, the shipping magnate magically reappeared at the City Ground. Did he ever leave? Another potential problem for Trivela's founder Ben Boycott when his legal team appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) on Monday, are his comments from December 2024. 'Trivela is a very small group of like-minded investors,' said Boycott. 'We don't publish investor lists but we have a high degree of transparency in terms of you know who I am and I make the decisions. If you don't like something Trivela do, you can blame me and not anyone else. 'The way it is structured, I make the decisions and we're very cautious in terms of who gets admitted into that.' Boycott is co-chairman of Drogheda, Silkeborg and English side Walsall. Walsall co-chairman Leigh Pomlett and Walsall, Drogheda and Silkeborg co-chairman Ben Boycott. Photograph:There are so many unanswered questions: why is a Birmingham, Alabama-based investment house buying clubs in tiny soccer markets? How does it plan to turn a buck? None of this makes sense. On top of a hefty legal bill when they look to contest Uefa's 'expulsion' at CAS, Drogheda's guaranteed prize money of €525,000 could be washed down the drain. Trivela claims to have made 'significant efforts to make necessary ownership and governance changes'. 'We have been in active dialogue with Uefa for months and have put forward a share disposition, trust arrangements, and various other undertakings consistent with recent CFCB [Club Financial Control Body] precedent, only to have all of those efforts rebuffed.' [ Drogheda enjoy FAI Cup glory but still need happy ending to story Opens in new window ] What creates an embarrassing situation for Irish football as a whole is that Derry City did not apply for a Uefa licence after losing the cup final to Drogheda. That deadline has also passed. As it stands, Ireland will lose a lucrative fourth spot in European competitions when qualification begins on July 10th. By the way, Silkeborg secured a place in Tuesday's draw by finishing higher in their domestic league than Drogheda's ninth place in last season's League of Ireland. The giants of the multi-club ecosystem – Red Bull, Ineos and the City Football Group – keep finding ways to bend the Uefa rules around multi-club ownership and having two clubs in the same competition. Last season Manchester United and Manchester City made use of the 'blind trust' paper trail, used for decades by British prime ministers to avoid the accusation of benefiting personally from decisions they have influence over. Back in 1997, Tony Blair set one up but it was subsequently revealed that his wife, Cherie, was directing what grew into a £27 million property empire . Manchester United co-owner Ineos got away with not having operational control of its French club Nice, so both teams could feature in the 2025 Europa League. Drogheda United's Luke Heeney and Adam Foley celebrate winning the 2024 FAI Cup Final at the Aviva Stadium. Photograph: Bryan Keane/Inpho The Abu Dhabi-owned City Football Group was permitted to enter Manchester City and Girona in last season's Champions League after Uefa was satisfied it had made 'significant changes to the ownership, governance, and financial support' of the Spanish club. Perhaps the most interesting stipulation by Uefa is that the clubs 'will not use any joint scouting or player database' until July 1st, 2025. And don't forget that Red Bull Salzburg from Austria and German club RB Leipzig were cleared to participate in the 2017-18 Champions League, following changes to their governance structures. If Drogheda can convince CAS that a similar situation exists, Trivela and Boycott would need to keep an even lower profile. Officially, the Crystal Palace situation is unresolved but the UK media are widely reporting that American businessman John Textor does not, legally speaking, control Lyon and the FA Cup winners. Apparently, Palace missed the deadline to put Textor's shares in a blind trust – sure, they had not won the FA Cup in March – but Uefa has been convinced that his 43 per cent stake does not come with a 'decisive influence'. Before the Drogheda situation, Ireland was sending four clubs into Europe next month. Shelbourne are busy readying Tolka Park for the first round of Champions League qualification while Shamrock Rovers and St Patrick's Athletic are aiming for the Conference League group stages. That's what makes the Drogheda scenario so frustrating. In Irish football, progress on the field seems to be continually damaged by administrative failings off it. Or not. Over to CAS. UP NEXT: The League returns from the international break with Rovers aiming to put 12 points between themselves and defending champions Shelbourne by winning Virgin Media's live broadcast from Tolka Park. Elsewhere, second-placed Drogheda will seek to reduce Rovers' six-point lead at the top with a result against St Pat's at Richmond Park.
Irish Independent
12-06-2025
- Sport
- Irish Independent
Uefa inform Drogheda United of possible expulsion from Conference League due to multi-club ownership rules
Drogheda United have revealed they are facing expulsion from the Uefa Conference League due to sister club Silkeborg IF competing in the same competition, and are now set to bring their case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
Irish Examiner
12-06-2025
- Business
- Irish Examiner
Drogheda facing expulsion from Uefa Conference League due to multi-club ownership rules
Drogheda United are facing expulsion from the Uefa Conference League due to both themselves and Silkeborg IF — who are both run by American based Trivela Group — qualifying for this year's competition. The club were informed today, June 12, that due to multi-club ownership rules they may be removed from the competition. The Uefa regulation states that 'no individual or legal entity may have control or influence over more than one club participating in a UEFA club competition'. In a situation such as this, the club with the higher league placing is allowed to remain in the competition. Alarmingly, for Drogheda, that would be Silkeborg IF. In a statement this afternoon, the club said the news came "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." They continued: "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. "We are now appealing the decision to the Court for Arbitration for Sport (CAS). Given we are now in the midst of an ongoing legal proceeding, and out of respect for that process, UEFA, the CFCB, and the overall aim of sporting integrity, there are limits to what we are able to share at this time. "What we can say is this: we are — even at this late hour — fighting to do anything and everything we can to secure our players', supporters', and community's place in Europe. "We have been in active dialogue with UEFA for months and have put forward a share disposition, trust arrangements, and various other undertakings consistent with recent CFCB precedent, only to have all of those efforts rebuffed. "Nevertheless, we look forward to the opportunity to be heard at CAS and thank you in advance for your support."
