EUROPA League
UEFA await Lyon relegation appeal before Palace Europa League decision
UEFA has decided to postpone its assessment of the multi-club ownership case involving Olympique Lyonnais and Crystal Palace until the French club’s relegation has been confirmed, European football’s governing body said on Monday.
The multi-club ownership regulations do not allow clubs under the same ownership compete in the same European competition, and American businessman John Textor holds a stake in both Palace and Lyon.
Palace qualified for the Europa League by winning the FA Cup last season while Lyon reached the competition by finishing sixth in Ligue 1 but have since been relegated to Ligue 2 by French football’s financial watchdog (DNCG).
Lyon are appealing the decision, which came following an audit of the club’s finances, and UEFA’s Club Financial Control Body will now await the outcome of the appeal before making its decision.
UEFA and Lyon reached a settlement agreement over the club’s breach of the financial sustainability requirements, and as part of the settlement, Lyon agreed to their exclusion from European competition should the DNCG confirm their relegation.
League of Ireland club Drogheda United lost an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport earlier this month over their exclusion from the Conference League, after falling foul of the multi-club ownership rules.
-Reuters
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Four-times Europa League winner Unai Emery booked an astonishing sixth final in the competition as a manager on Thursday when his Aston Villa team swept aside Nottingham Forest in the second leg of their all-English semi-final.
The 54-year-old Spaniard has won three times with Sevilla (2014, 2015, 2016) and once with Villarreal (2021) – either side of a defeat with Arsenal (2019) – deservedly earning him the epithet “Mr Europa League” from some fans and media.
Now he goes to the 2026 final seeking a fifth title, this time with Aston Villa against Bundesliga side Freiburg.
“His track record speaks for itself,” said Villa striker Ollie Watkins, heaping praise on his boss as the man to guarantee Europa League success. “We need to go and win it now.”
Emery was delighted with how his team overturned a 1-0 deficit to Forest in the first leg of the Europa League semi-final to score four times at home and win 4-1 on aggregate.
“Now we have to look to the final,” he said, hoping that Villa will do “something fantastic” for their fans.
Though thrilled at Thursday’s win, Emery left the pitch quickly after the final whistle, pumping his fist a few times at the crowd before letting his players enjoy the moment with fans
He and his Villa side will be favourites at the Europa League final in Istanbul on May 20, but Emery was taking nothing for granted. “Of course German teams are so difficult, their coaches, their players are so good,” he added of the upcoming opponents.
-Reuters
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List of teams which have qualified for the next round of the Europa League after the league phase concluded on Thursday, ranked by table position:
Directly to the round of 16:
1. Olympique Lyonnais (France)
2. Aston Villa (England)
3. Midtjylland (Denmark)
4. Real Betis (Spain)
5. Porto (Portugal)
6. Braga (Portugal)
7. Freiburg (Germany)
8. AS Roma (Italy)
Knockout phase play-off places (seeded)
9. Genk (Belgium)
10. Bologna (Italy)
11. VfB Stuttgart (Germany)
12. Ferencvaros (Hungary)
13. Nottingham Forest (England)
14. Viktoria Plzen (Czech Republic)
15. Red Star Belgrade (Serbia)
16. Celta Vigo (Spain)
Knockout phase play-off places (unseeded)
17. PAOK (Greece)
18. Lille (France)
19. Fenerbahce (Turkey)
20. Panathinaikos (Greece)
21. Celtic (Scotland)
22. Ludogorets (Bulgaria)
23. Dinamo Zagreb (Croatia)
24. SK Brann (Norway)
-Reuters
UEFA Europa League – Aston Villa v RB Salzburg – Villa Park, Birmingham, Britain – January 29, 2026 Aston
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Israeli club Maccabi Tel Aviv will not accept any away fan tickets for their Europa League match at Aston Villa next month, even if local authorities reverse the decision to ban their supporters, they said on Monday.
The ban followed safety concerns raised by British Police, who cited potential protests outside Villa Park, following demonstrations at Israel’s recent World Cup qualifiers in Oslo and Udine.
“From hard lessons learned we have taken the decision to decline any allocation offered on behalf of away fans and our decision should be understood in that context,” Maccabi said in a statement.
“We hope that circumstances will change and look forward to being able to play in Birmingham in a sporting environment in the near future.”
Aston Villa announced the decision last week, saying they were following instructions from the Safety Advisory Group (SAG), who are responsible for issuing safety certificates for games at Villa Park.
West Midlands Police described the match as high risk, past incidents, including violent confrontations and hate crime offences involving Ajax and Maccabi Tel Aviv supporters ahead of a November 2024 game in Amsterdam.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar described the announcement as “shameful”.
Villa are third in the Europa League standings while Maccabi Tel Aviv are 30th after two rounds.
-Reuters
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