Chelsea Champions League ban truth revealed as UEFA rule twist confirmed

RC Strasbourg's hopes of securing Champions League football have been dealt a major blow after they lost to relegation battlers Angers on Saturday. The fellow BlueCo-owned outfit had been unbeaten in 12 Ligue 1 matches prior, setting up a grandstand finish.

However, Liam Rosenior's men fell at the penultimate hurdle and now have matters outside of their own hands ahead of the final day. All of Nice, Little, and Strasbourg are on 57 points with one match to go and just a single spot in the Champions League preliminary rounds up for grabs.

Monaco secured their place in third with a 2-0 win over Lyon in what has been an enthralling race for European football in France. Whilst there is only goal difference separating the three competitors, Strasbourg know that slipping up next weekend against Le Havre (another side facing the drop) could see them fall out of European contention entirely.

Lyon are three points behind in seventh and have a superior goal difference as well, meaning that if they were to beat the now-safe Angers and Strasbourg lost to Le Havre, it could end up as a nightmare final few weeks. As it stands, Strasbourg will play in the Conference League next season.

Should either of Nice or Lille drop points then Strasbourg know a win would be enough to get them into the Europa League or even Champions League. Nice have a +19 goal difference, Lille are on +15, and Strasbourg are on +13. It means that even with three victories, a big win for one of the teams could swing things in their favour.

Strasbourg have the easiest game on paper but will be all too aware of the danger posed by opponents fighting relegation. Le Havre could go down automatically with a heavy defeat and a St-Etienne defeat. They need to win to have any chance of not playing the relegation play-off.

Nice host Brest, who have nothing to play for. Lille are also at home and welcome Reims. They are in trouble of the relegation play-off if they get beaten and other results go against them. There are plenty of permutations at play.

What does this all mean for Chelsea? Well, if Strasbourg were to get into the Champions League then it would be enormous vindication for what has ben a controversial transfer strategy at the club.

Ever since the Clearlake Capital-Todd Boehly takeover, BlueCo have been an extremely unpopular group to many associated with Strasbourg and several large protests against their involvement have taken place. Being part of a multi-club setup is not the honour that some imagine it to be.

Last season, under Patrick Vieira, Strasbourg were in a relegation scrap themselves and the method of signing young players was widely panned in France. Under Rosenior's guidance, and after a late change of heart to sack Vieira and appoint the former Hull City head coach, Strasbourg have climbed up the league.

In 2025 only PSG have more points. Led by Chelsea loanee Andrey Santos, as well as Djordje Petrovic in goal, Strasbourg have had a mighty fine year to date.

They were not expected to cause as much of a challenge at the top of the table but have flourished under Rosenior. UEFA rules promise to cause some problems, though.

They state that no two teams under the same 'person with significant control' can be in the same UEFA competition. Due to complications in recent years owing to the rise in popularity and commonality of multi-club ownership, accommodations have been made.

Manchester City and Girona, for example, were both in the Champions League this season. Nice and Manchester United were in the Europa League.

Whereas UEFA regulations previously threatened to remove one side to avoid conflicts of interest, changes have been made. Now, clubs simply have to amend the ownership structure. This means that shares in Strasbourg would be moved into a blind trust during the period that both teams are in the same tournament.

The threat of being kicked out if certain changes aren't made still remains, although it would be nonsensical from Chelsea's perspective. UEFA also have other criteria to avoid the need of scaling down investment in second teams.

Transfers between the teams are not permitted - which would mean Chelsea cannot loan players to Strasbourg to aid their development. The sharing of certain data and analytics are also not permitted.

For Chelsea, seeing Strasbourg enter the Europa League (and to a lesser extent the Conference League) may actually work better for them. This way they would be able to utilise an extra three loan spots and have close ties with players moving away.

This summer that could include Kendry Paez, Mike Penders, Aaron Anselmino, or Mamadou Sarr. All four are likely to be considered for potential season-long loans whilst Tyrique George and Josh Acheampong would also benefit from a year of regular senior football on the continent.

Only three can be sent away, regardless, but without access to Strasbourg Chelsea are somewhat limited. Strasbourg themselves will not be worried about this as the seek to finish as high up as possible.

Of course, what we also have to consider is that Chelsea don't make the Champions League either. They are still in a fierce battle for a top five place and know that plenty could still change in the final few weeks which could lead to them being in the Europa League or Conference League themselves.

Chelsea will be watching the progress of Strasbourg closely next weekend and know that their futures are very much intertwined.

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