Salzburg and Leipzig both played EL last year too. Like I said, they are seen as independent clubs. UEFA wanted them to make some structural changes and they did, so when Leipzig qualified for Europe for the first time last year, the UEFA gave green light for both to participate. Nothing new to see here, just funny that they finally meet. They could have met last year in the semis too, but Leipzig crashed out in the quarters.
The sponsoring part is also true. RB Salzburg has to participate as "FC Salzburg" because sponsoring is not allowed in the team name. Leipzig has avoid that by calling themselves "Rasenball" (grass ball) instead of Red Bull, so they can still participate as "RB Leipzig".
|