NYON, Switzerland (AP) - UEFA says it cleared Bundesliga runner-up Leipzig to enter the Champions League, after club owner Red Bull distanced itself from Salzburg.
Leipzig risked losing its automatic place in next season’s group stage because of UEFA integrity rules preventing two clubs under the same ownership from playing in the same competition.
Had Red Bull owned both clubs, Salzburg would have taken priority under UEFA rules because it placed higher as the national champion in Austria.
UEFA says its club finance monitoring panel “deemed that no individual or legal entity had any more a decisive influence over more than one club.”
Salzburg will play in the Champions League second qualifying round next month, against Hibernians of Malta or FCI Tallinn of Estonia.
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