Kosice or Podbrezova? One sentence would have prevented all the speculation

The worst-case scenario was, fortunately, averted. The Slovak club football will indeed have a quartet of representatives in European competitions for the 2025/2026 season. The fourth and final participant was confirmed on Tuesday in the afternoon: FC Kosice. The team from eastern Slovakia replaced DAC Dunajská Streda in the second qualifying round of the UEFA Europa Conference League.

The team from Zitny ostrov was disqualified by the European football federation UEFA for breaching the rule on multi-club ownership. DAC's longtime owner, Oszkar Vilagi, also owns the Hungarian top-division club ETO Gyor, which likewise qualified for European competition. In the end, Dunajska Streda was unable to overturn UEFA’s negative ruling, even after appealing to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).

"It cannot be said that the ownership structures of DAC were non-transparent. Rather, they relied on being able to handle the issue through legal and sporting channels — which did not happen. It was clearly a bad miscalculation, and it’s Dunajska Streda that ultimately paid the price," said sports law expert Jozef Tokos in an interview with Economic Daily. (...)

The participation of Kosice was approved by a majority vote of Nike League clubs during an internal discussion at the Presidium of the Union of League Clubs. However, the now-vacant spot left by Dunajska Streda — who had won the playoff for the Conference League — was also being eyed by Podbrezová. The team from Horehronie had been the defeated finalist, narrowly losing 2–3 away to Dunajska Streda at MOL Arena. However, in the final standings after the regular season, Košice finished higher than the Podbrezova. To add to the complexity, though, Podbrezova had beaten Košice in the playoff semifinal.

This is partly why there was disappointment in Horehronie region following the Union’s decision. But how does an expert view the situation? “It’s not a black-and-white matter. No legal rule was violated. The world of sports law often brings up such situations — it’s always about the rules and regulations. In this case, the rule wasn’t bad, it just wasn’t complete,” explained legal expert Jozef Tokoš.

The crux of the issue is the lack of clear instructions on how to proceed if the playoff winner, for any reason, is unable to participate in the Conference League. On a moral level, Podbrezova’s request is understandable. On the other hand, UEFA recommends giving preference to the long-term league standings. However, that is just a recommendation — not a binding regulation.

“It’s a kind of grey area, a disputed situation. But the mistake happened right at the beginning. Podbrezova surely feels wronged. The fact remains that one sentence and better foresight would have prevented any doubt or debate,” Tokos concluded.