RB Leipzig and FC Salzburg, which are both owned by the energy drinks company Red Bull, have received clearance from UEFA’s Club Financial Control Body (CFCB) to play in next season’s Champions League.

In a brief statement released Tuesday on the governing body’s website, UEFA said the two teams made “important” structural changes to ensure that Red Bull does not have “decisive” control or influence over more than one club.

No two clubs in a UEFA competition can share the same majority owner or have one individual holding a position of influence.

“Following a thorough investigation, and further to several important governance and structural changes made by the clubs (regarding corporate matters, financing, personnel, sponsorship arrangements, etc.), the CFCB deemed that no individual or legal entity had anymore a decisive influence over more than one club participating in a UEFA club competition,” the statement read.

The Bundesliga’s 50-plus-1 rule – which requires members of German clubs to have a controlling stake and majority vote in affairs – may have set Leipzig apart from sister club Salzburg.

But Red Bull has also distanced itself from Salzburg, according to Reuters, as it has relinquished a majority stake in favour of a sponsorship.

Had UEFA ruled that only one Red Bull-associated outfit could feature in the Champions League, Austrian champion Salzburg would have qualified ahead of Bundesliga runner-up Leipzig because it finished higher in its league.

In fact, Leipzig would have disqualified for Europe altogether because of the possibility of Salzburg falling into the second-tier Europa League.

The two sides could now theoretically face each other in the group stage of the continent’s premier tournament, raising questions about a potential conflict of interest. Both play in stadiums named Red Bull Arena and wear shirts with the company’s famous logo.

Salzburg will enter the second round of qualifying in July, while Leipzig will begin action in the Champions League proper.

Cincinnati Bengals cornerback Adam Jones has been suspended for the 2017 season opener for violating the NFL’s personal conduct policy, the league announced Friday.

Jones’ suspension stems from his January arrest at a hotel in downtown Cincinnati. He allegedly pushed a security guard, poked him in the eye and refused to comply with law enforcement officers.

He had faced misdemeanor charges of assault, disorderly conduct and obstructing official business and a felony count of harassment with a bodily substance for allegedly spitting on a nurse in jail, but most of the charges were dropped at the request of a Cincinnati prosecutor, who said the incident was just “drunken foolishness.”

Jones pleaded guilty in May to the obstruction charge. He was sentenced to two days in jail, which had already been served.

The NFL told Jones in a letter that it watched video “of the tone, tenor and nature of your interactions with law enforcement at the site of your arrest, during transportation to the jail, and during the booking process.” The league also said his actions reflected poorly on him, his family, the Bengals and the NFL.

“While it is our understanding that appropriate apologies have been publicly extended, they do not completely negate your behavior and admission of culpability for the underlying conduct,” the NFL wrote.

In a statement, the Bengals said they had anticipated the suspension and were looking to move on.

“Our focus is on getting ready for the upcoming season,” the Bengals said. “Adam will participate in training camp, and we are counting on him to help our team when he returns from suspension.”

The Bengals host the Baltimore Ravens in Week 1, and Jones would be allowed on Cincinnati’s active roster the day after the game. He will be allowed to participate in preseason practices and games.

Jurgen Klopp insists Liverpool’s not prepared to sell off its greatest assets, and therefore spurned a reported approach from Barcelona for Philippe Coutinho.

The Catalonian giant’s impending bid for Coutinho was one of football’s worst-kept secrets over the previous 24 hours, and the Reds were apparently unmoved when it arrived, although the Guardian’s Andy Hunter reports the offer was worth €80 million (£72 million).

“Yes, that’s what we can say,” Klopp replied Friday when asked if Coutinho wasn’t for sale. “But that’s not since this morning or yesterday, I’m not sure if it was different at any time. So, yes.

“I’m not surprised that any club is interested in players, if it is like this. A few people obviously see that Liverpool has a few good players. That’s how it is.

“But a very important message, maybe – we are not a selling club.”

Coutinho, 25, features highly on a list of players to potentially succeed 33-year-old midfield wizard Andres Iniesta at Barcelona. The Brazilian’s adeptness at slotting into a deeper position in the lineup was evident in one of his standout performances of last term: May’s 4-0 win at West Ham United.

(Photo courtesy: Action Images)

Some personalities behind the scenes at the Camp Nou could be egging on the club brass to table lucrative offers for Coutinho. The Rio de Janeiro native regularly partners friend Neymar in Brazil’s attack, and also counts Luis Suarez – with whom he played with at Liverpool for two seasons before the Uruguayan moved to the Mediterranean coast – as a close ally.

But Klopp isn’t keen on having one of his standout ranks pilfered before Liverpool ends a two-year exile from Champions League football, and tries to establish itself as a force in the domestic title race.

“We believe in working together, we believe in development together,” the German manager continued. “We believe in using the basis. We want to work together, we want to make the next step together and for this we need to stay together. That’s how it is.”

Referring to the 10 matches Coutinho missed last season due to injury, Klopp added: “Phil is a very, very important player but we need to react better when he’s not on the pitch, that’s how it is.”

The former Borussia Dortmund boss was addressing the media in Hong Kong before taking on Leicester City on Saturday. Liverpool won the first match of its East Asian programme 2-0 against Crystal Palace, with goals coming from new boy Dominic Solanke and Divock Origi.

LOVELOCK, Nev. — Former football star and convicted felon O.J. Simpson is appearing before a parole board Thursday, pleading for his freedom on live TV.

Simpson was convicted in 2008 of an armed robbery involving two sports memorabilia dealers in a Las Vegas hotel room. The 70-year-old is asking the parole board to release him in October after serving the minimum nine years of a 33-year sentence.

He is seated at a plain wooden table and is appearing before the parole board from Lovelock Correctional Center via closed-circuit video. Appearing as inmate No. 1027820, Simpson is being accompanied by lawyer Malcolm LaVergne, prison caseworker Marc La Fleur, close friend Tom Scotto, sister Shirley Baker and daughter Arnelle Simpson.

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  Follow along as O.J. Simpson, who has spent the last eight years in a Nevada prison, hears whether he will be granted parole.