Rachid Ghezzal Banned from Competing in the Europa League

Contrary to earlier confirmation from UEFA, Rachid Ghezzal is no longer eligible to participate in the Europa League with Olympique Lyonnais. A “regulation clarification” issued by the European governing body indicated that the registration of the Algerian midfielder, who was signed on September 5, should not have been accepted after the September 1 deadline. Ghezzal made an impact in his debut against Utrecht on the first matchday (1-0) by providing an assist to Tanner Tessmann.

According to L’Équipe, UEFA acknowledged an administrative error and confirmed that Ghezzal will not be able to participate in European competitions until January. With the absence of Ernest Nuamah and Orel Mangala, OL will have to cope without their Algerian asset this Thursday against FC Basel in the Europa League. This is a setback for Paulo Fonseca.