Europa League ban 'unfair', says Milan chief

AC Milan CEO Marco Fassone

AC Milan chief executive Marco Fassone labelled the club's ban from the 2018-19 Europa League as "unfair".

Milan are appealing UEFA's decision to ban them from the competition, with the governing body citing a breach of Financial Fair Play and licensing regulations.

Fassone said the Serie A club would do all they could to have the ban overturned, with their initial appeal heading to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).

"We consider the UEFA ruling unfair," he said on Monday.

"I hope the CAS will see things differently and we will fight until the very end to overturn the sentence."

Marco Fassone: "We consider the UEFA ruling unfair. I hope the CAS will see things differently and we will fight until the very end to overturn the sentence"#ASKFassone

— AC Milan (@acmilan) July 2, 2018

Though Milan will not, as it stands, be permitted to compete in Europe's second-tier club competition, they would be free to play in the Champions League or Europa League in 2019-20 should they qualify for either tournament.

Milan were taken over by a consortium headed by Chinese businessman Li Yonghong, who then became the club's chairman, in April last year.

The club subsequently spent big before the 2017-18 campaign, signing the likes of Leonardo Bonucci, Andre Silva and Hakan Calhanoglu.

Gennaro Gattuso replaced the sacked Vincenzo Montella in November, leading Milan to the final of the Coppa Italia, where they lost to Juventus, and the last 16 of the Europa League.