Uefa says Aston Villa, Brighton and AC Milan can take part in European competitions this season after they made “significant changes” to comply with multi-club ownership rules.
Villa’s owners have a stake in Vitoria Guimaraes and Brighton owner Tony Bloom is involved with Union Saint-Gilloise.
Milan and Toulouse are majority owned by RedBird Capital Partners.
Uefa made its decision after investigating a “potential conflict with the multi-club ownership rule”.
Brighton will be in the Europa League, while Union Saint-Gilloise are in the play-offs for the same competition.
Villa have qualified for the Europa Conference League, while Vitoria Guimaraes are in the second qualifying round for that competition.
AC Milan will be in the Champions League, while Toulouse are involved in the Europa League.
In its ruling, European football’s governing body said the changes made means “no club, either directly or indirectly, holds or deals in securities or shares of any other club participating in a Uefa club competition”.
It added that “no-one has control or decisive influence over more than one club in a Uefa club competition”.
Uefa said the “significant changes” that had been implemented “substantially restrict the investors’ influence and decision-making power over more than one club, ensuring compliance with the multi-club ownership rule”.
In addition, the clubs involved agreed they would not transfer players to each other “permanently or on loan, directly or indirectly, until September 2024” or “use any joint scouting or player database”.
