Report: Manchester United could be booted out of Europa League due to UEFA rule - still no hope for NUFC

Manchester United dashed Newcastle United's European dream at the weekend by coming up with a surprise win over their bitter rivals Manchester City in the FA Cup final.

Erik ten Hag's men rose to the occasion and lifted the trophy which saw Newcastle United's hopes of playing in Europe next season evaporate. Man United's win sees them enter the Europa League while Chelsea, who finished in sixth in the Premier League got bumped into the Europa Conference League.

However, as reported in The Telegraph, Manchester United face a ticking clock situation to allow them to compete in the Europa League due to the involvement of OGC Nice, which is also part-owned by Sir Jim Ratcliffe's INEOS Group.

Under UEFA's Multi-Club Ownership rules, two clubs owned by the same person or group cannot compete in the same European tournament.

We got excited for a second ... but our bubble was burst

If, like us, you read that and got a little bit excited and had that Dumb and Dumber meme in your head, then, I'm sorry, I have bad news.

Should Manchester United fail to satisfy UEFA that there would be no conflict with the two INEOS clubs competing in the same competition, the result would just be that Manchester United would be demoted into the Europa Conference League rather than kicked out of European competition altogether.

That would then just see them swap places with Chelsea more than likely. So there's still no likelihood of Newcastle benefitting from this latest Manchester United mess.

Manchester United will probably get cleared to play in the Europa League

It's fine though, really, just fine. I mean, who wants to play in Europe anyway? It's not even fun. We don't even like it.

To be fair, it's an unlikely scenario anyway as other clubs with MCO's at the helm have managed to gain permission to play in Europe. Brighton had to do it this season, Manchester City have come up against it too. Despite being a rule it's hardly strictly enforced as long as you can prove to UEFA there's a separation between the clubs.

In all honesty, it's better if we actually earn a spot in Europe rather than be granted one by default, so next season, we'll be there on merit. Howay Eddie Howe's Taking A Year Off Because The Champions League Nearly Killed Us This Season Mags