July 15 – The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has dismissed an appeal by Slovak club FK DAC 1904 Dunajská Streda, confirming their exclusion from the 2025/26 Europa Conference League due to breaches of UEFA’s multi-club ownership (MCO) regulations.
The case is centered on DAC’s ownership ties to Hungarian side Győri ETO FC, with both clubs linked to the same financial entity — EEA Holding B.V. — and ultimately, the same family.
UEFA’s Club Financial Control Body (CFCB) ruled last month that DAC had failed to comply with Article 5.01 of the UEFA Club Competition Regulations, which prohibits any individual or entity from holding influence over more than one club participating in the same UEFA competition. Sound familiar, Crystal Palace fans?
UEFA’s investigation concluded that three members of the same family were involved, either directly or indirectly, in both the shareholding and governance of both the clubs.
It also identified that a single individual held overlapping senior roles at both clubs: Managing Director of ETO FC and simultaneously CEO, Vice-President, and board member at DAC — a level of influence UEFA deemed incompatible with fair competition.
DAC appealed the decision to CAS, arguing primarily that UEFA had invalidly changed the ownership assessment date from the 3rd of June to 1st of March 2025. The club also claimed that EEA Holding’s structure didn’t enable decisive control over either club and therefore didn’t violate UEFA rules.
However, the CAS panel — made up of Mark Hovell (UK), Bernhard Welten (Switzerland), and Raphaëlle Favre Schnyder (Switzerland) — rejected DAC’s arguments following a virtual hearing held on Monday.
The panel unanimously concluded that UEFA had acted within its statutes in amending the assessment timeline and that DAC was indeed in breach of Article 5.01(b) and (c)(iv), which concern direct influence and decision-making power across multiple clubs.
As a result, DAC have been removed from the 2025/26 Conference League, reinforcing UEFA’s growing scrutiny of multi-club ownership models which has never been more prominent heading into the current season, as it looks to protect its competitions from overlapping interest between competitors.
Contact the writer of this story, Harry Ewing, at moc.l1752670318labto1752670318ofdlr1752670318owedi1752670318sni@g1752670318niwe.1752670318yrrah1752670318