Drogheda United’s expulsion from Conference League confirmed as court appeal fails

Drogheda United have lost their appeal against their expulsion from the Uefa Conference League to the Court for Arbitration for Sport.

Drogheda have been excluded from Tuesday’s Uefa Conference League first round qualifier draw, ahead of the opening fixtures in July, because The Trivela Group, a US investment firm, owns a majority stake in the Louth club and Danish side Silkeborg IF.

Under Uefa laws “no individual or legal entity” can control two teams competing in the same European competition.

Silkeborg secured their place over Kevin Doherty’s side as they finished higher in the Danish league last season than Drogheda’s ninth-placed finish in the League of Ireland.

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“It is with great heartbreak and disbelief that we inform you we have lost our appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport,” the club said in a statement.

“After months of engagement, constructive dialogue, countless hours of legal preparation, and multiple proposals based on frameworks that have been accepted in the past, we have come up short. Despite genuine and vocal support across the football world, the ruling did not fall in our favour. We are heartbroken by the outcome.”

As a result, Drogheda are set to lose out on a minimum €525,000 in Uefa prize money, despite qualifying for the Conference League by beating Derry City in the FAI Cup final last November.

Neither Derry nor any other Irish club can replace Drogheda, and join Shamrock Rovers and St Patrick’s Athletic in Tuesday’s draw as they missed the deadline for a Uefa licence.