Featured Image Credit: Getty
Topics: Manchester United, Football, Champions League, Galatasaray, UEFA
Rory O'Callaghan
Topics: Manchester United, Football, Champions League, Galatasaray, UEFA
Manchester United are facing elimination from the Champions League after another disappointing result away from home in Europe.
Erik ten Hag's side twice let a two-goal lead slip to draw 3-3 with Galatasaray in Istanbul on Wednesday night.
Alejandro Garnacho and Bruno Fernandes put the visitors in a strong position before former Chelsea man Hakim Ziyech pulled one back for the hosts from a free-kick.
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Scott McTominay restored United's two-goal buffer after the break but a calamitous error from Andre Onana allowed Ziyech to score his second from another free-kick.
Muhammed Akturkoglu then equalised for the home side with a brilliant strike as the match ended a draw – a better result for the Turkish side.
United remain bottom of their group and now face a huge task to qualify for the knockout phase after Copenhagen held Bayern Munich to a goalless draw away from home.
It means United must beat Bayern at Old Trafford on December 12 and hope Galatasaray and Copenhagen draw to progress to the last 16.
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United's potential elimination comes amid doubts over whether the club will even be able to compete in the competition next season.
The Sun claim that Sir Jim Ratcliffe's soon-to-be-announced deal to become a minority owner of United – in which he will assume control of football operations at Old Trafford - threatens the club's place in the Champions League because of his ownership of surprise French title contenders Nice.
Current UEFA regulations state that no individual or entity "may have control or influence over more than one club participating in a UEFA competition".
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The rules also state that no individual can be "involved in any capacity" or have any "power whatsoever in the management, administration and/or sporting performance of any other club" participating in a UEFA competition.
A senior UEFA source has told The Sun that a number of clubs have been lobbying for changes for next season, when the new expanded Champions League format comes in.
It is suggested that United are among this group of clubs.
While some clubs are said to want UEFA to simply take the multi-club regulations out of the rulebook, another option would see multi-club teams prevented from meeting each other in the new initial league stage.
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However, under this system multi-club teams could potentially face each other in the knock-out phase.
UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin has previously hinted European football's governing body would be open to changing the current regulations.
"We are not thinking about Manchester United only," Ceferin told Gary Neville's The Overlap.
"We've had five or six owners of clubs who want to buy another club. We have to see what to do. The options are that it stays like that or that we allow them to play in the same competition.
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"I'm not sure yet. We have to speak about these regulations and see what to do about it."