AC Milan have been excluded from
next season's Europa League after the Court of Arbitration for
Sport (CAS) said Friday that it has ratified an agreement
between the club and UEFA over breaches of Financial Fair Play
(FFP) rules.
"AC Milan is excluded from participating in the UEFA Club
Competitions of the sporting season 2019/2020 as a consequence
of the breach of its FFP break-even obligations during the
2015/2016/2017 and the 2016/2017/2018 monitoring periods," CAS
said.
Milan qualified for the Europa League by finishing fifth in
Serie A last season.
As a result of Milan's exclusion, AS Roma, who finished
sixth, will go directly into the group stage of the Europa
League without having to go through the preliminary rounds.
Torino, who finished seventh, will take the place Roma had in
the preliminary rounds of Europe's secondary club competition.
Milan issued a statement saying: "Whilst saddened by the fact
that our fans will not be able to see their team compete in
European competition next season, the Club recognises and
respects FFP.
"The Club acknowledges it has no other choice but to accept
the sanctions, as it seeks to forge a pathway back to full
compliance.
"AC Milan remains committed to restoring the Club to its
rightful place at the top of European football.
"Today's ruling will act as a stimulus to maximize the
efforts to become fully compliant with FFP, while at the same
time consolidating the competitiveness of the Club, and
returning AC Milan to sustainability and a more positive
future."
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