UEFA: FC Salzburg and RB Leipzig admitted to the Champions League by the Club Financial Control Body

"The Adjudicatory Chamber of the UEFA Club Financial Control Body (CFCB) has decided to accept the admission of both FC Red Bull Salzburg (AUT) and RB Leipzig (GER) to the 2017-18 UEFA Champions League, having found that Article 5 (Integrity of the competition) of the competition regulations is not breached," announced UEFA on 20/06/2017.

Both clubs are controlled by the Red Bull group, but FC Salzburg said a "Red Bull disengagement process" had been underway since 2015 (see below).

"Following a thorough investigation, and further to several important governance and structural changes made by the clubs (regarding corporate matters, financing, personnel, sponsorship arrangements, etc), the CFCB deemed that no individual or legal entity had anymore a decisive influence over more than one club participating in a UEFA club competition," said the European governing body. If the CFBC had not allowed both clubs to the Champions League, it would have been FC Salzburg who qualified, having finished first in the Austrian Bundesliga, while RB Leipzig finished second in the German Bundesliga…