Marseille considered withdrawing from Europa League

Marseille considered withdrawing from Europa League The 2026-27 Europa League season could well have gone ahead without Olympique de Marseille. Although the French club had qualified thanks to their fifth-place finish in Ligue 1 last season, they reportedly considered “negotiating” their exclusion from the competition with UEFA, according to L’Équipe . Facing action from the governing body’s Financial Control Panel, OM was fined €10m last June, but more importantly was given a one-year reprieve to rectify their financial situation – a process that would notably involve qualifying for European competition at the end of next season. Should they fail to do so, the Marseille side would consequently face automatic exclusion from all European competitions in 2027-28 or later. Initially considered as a way of easing the pressure, this option was ultimately ruled out, as OM’s directors regard the Europa League as a prestigious competition with significant sporting and financial appeal. However, the outcome would certainly have been different had Marseille been forced to compete in ‘only’ the Conference League, as the club would have agreed not to take part. GFFN  |  Léo Aschi