LAUSANNE: The Court of Arbitration for Sport, sport’s highest legal authority, has announced that Serie A giants AC Milan will be allowed to play in the Europa League, dismissing UEFA’s ban against the club over allegedly flouting the European governing body’s Financial Fair Play (FFP) rules.
The new owners of AC Milan, USA’s hedge fund company Elliot Fund, have supported Milan’s cause and expressed satisfaction at the result.
“Elliott is pleased that we were able to support AC Milan at the CAS and that our intervention was able to achieve a positive result for the club. Playing in Europe is part of the heritage of AC Milan and to have been excluded would have been a shame. We will now work hard to rebuild the credibility of the club with UEFA and show that we can succeed on the pitch while respecting UEFA FFP rules. Today’s legal victory is an important first step in the rehabilitation of AC Milan. This rehabilitation will not be an overnight project, and there is a great deal of hard work ahead which Elliott is ready for”, the company was quoted as saying to Milan’s official website.
Reuters reported that Elliot had pledged to contribute 50 million euros ($58.5 million) for the club’s financial stability. AC Milan’s previous owner, Li Yonghong from China had claimed losses of 75 million euros ($88 million) in the last financial year, unable to repay the fund just 12 months after taking over from former Italian PM Silvio Berlusconi in this capacity.
