AC Milan banned from 2018-19 Europa League

Breaches of FFP and licensing regulations have led to UEFA banning AC Milan from Europe for next season.

Published : Jun 27, 2018 20:43 IST

AC Milan will be unable to play in the 2018-19 Europa League after being banned from UEFA competition due to breaches of Financial Fair Play (FFP) and licensing regulations.

UEFA announced a decision on Wednesday that sees Milan "excluded from participating in the next UEFA club competition for which it would otherwise qualify in the next two seasons". 

The ruling is subject to a potential appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

Milan qualified for the Europa League group stages by finishing sixth in Serie A last season following a resurgence under Gennaro Gattuso.

Though it will not, as it stands, be permitted to compete in Europe's second-tier club competition, Milan will be free to play in the Champions League or Europa League in 2019-20 should it qualify for either tournament.

The club's CEO, Marco Fassone, already has indicated that Milan intends to appeal, earlier telling Tuttosport: "In the case of an unfavorable sentence, we can appeal to CAS."

Milan was taken over by a consortium headed by Chinese businessman Li Yonghong, who then became the club's chairman, in April last year.

The club subsequently spent big before the 2017-18 campaign, signing the likes of Leonardo Bonucci, Andre Silva and Hakan Calhanoglu.

Gattuso replaced the sacked Vincenzo Montella in November, also leading Milan to the final of the Coppa Italia, where it lost to Juventus, and the last 16 of the Europa League, a run that ended with a loss to Arsenal.

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