Bundesliga Side RB Leipzig Cleared By UEFA To Play In Champions League

UEFA "will allow" Bundesliga runner-up RB Leipzig to play in the Champions League next season, according to ESPN.com. Leipzig's status had been "in jeopardy" because Red Bull Salzburg won the Austrian Bundesliga and "both clubs have ownership links to energy drink company Red Bull." UEFA's integrity rules "prevent multiple teams from the same ownership from playing in the Champions League," but the governing body's adjudicatory arm "was satisfied that the clubs had fulfilled the requirements needed to allow entry for both sides." UEFA said that it would "continue to monitor both clubs," and that the decision could still be appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport within 10 days. Salzburg will enter the competition in the second qualifying round, while Leipzig will enter in the group stage, but the Austrian club "would have taken priority as champions had UEFA found the sides to be in violation of its regulations" (ESPN.com, 6/20).