Italian giants AC Milan have been handed a one-year ban from European football by UEFA over breaches of Financial Fair Play rules. 

The ban won’t permit the club to compete in the UEFA Europa League 2019/20 season after qualifying for the competition with a fifth-placed Serie A finish. Sixth-placed AS Roma, who were due to play in the qualifying rounds of the Europa League, will directly reach the group stages with seventh-placed Torino taking their place. 

AC Milan ended the season only a point below their arch-rivals Inter Milan who secured Champions League qualification. The club, however, will not be seen in European action next season.

“The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has issued a Consent Award embodying the agreement reached between AC Milan S.p.A and the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) concerning breaches of the UEFA Financial Fair Play Regulations by the Italian club”, read a statement from the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

The seven-time European champions successfully appealed against a two-year ban imposed by UEFA last year after they were found guilty of breaking rules regarding overspending between 2015 and 2017. However, they were again referred to the administrative body in April.

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UEFA’s financial regulatory body states that any club making losses beyond the permitted limits over a period spanning three-years is subject to possible sanctions, which could also result in a ban. 

Milan was taken over by Sino-Europe Sports Investment Management in 2016 lead by businessman Li Yonghong, who invested heavily order to put the club back onto the footballing map. However, they spent more than £200m on transfers between 2015 and 2017 breaching the £27m cap of incurred losses, as per UEFA’s regulations. 

In December, AC Milan were cautioned that they must break even by June 2021 and their £10m prize money was also withheld by UEFA as a warning.