UEFA clears Brighton, Toulouse and Aston Villa for European entry but limits future transfer deals

By GRAHAM DUNBAR
AP Sports Writer

GENEVA (AP) — Brighton, Toulouse and Aston Villa have been cleared by UEFA to play in European competitions next season despite their owners having ties to other clubs that qualified, including AC Milan. All three were under threat of being removed by UEFA. UEFA drafted rules on multi-club ownership 25 years ago to protect the integrity of its competitions when the teams could be drawn to play each other during the season. UEFA-appointed investigators evaluated three cases in recent weeks. These were Brighton and Union Saint-Gilloise, Toulouse and AC Milan, plus Aston Villa and Vittoria Guimaraes. UEFA noted “significant changes by the clubs and investors” though placed limits on future transfer dealings with their sibling teams.