Amid ever-growing concerns over whether Crystal Palace will be allowed to participate in the Europa League next season after winning the FA Cup, a Premier League club have reportedly written to the competition’s chiefs, UEFA, to complain about the Eagles being in breach of multi-club ownership rules.
Oliver Glasner’s side, thanks to a 1-0 win over Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City in the FA Cup final, booked themselves in next season’s Europa League – but there have been fears over their place due to John Textor’s ownership of French club Olympique Lyonnais.
Lyon have, too, qualified for the continent’s secondary club competition – but long-standing multi-club ownership rules prevent any two clubs controlled by the same person/group from competing in the same competition, thus putting their place in jeopardy.
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The London club’s Europa League spot remains at risk
Nottingham Forest, despite mounting an early charge for Champions League football, managed to conclude the campaign in 7th place, thus securing Europa Conference League football come August. They would, however, jump up a tier should Glasner’s men be excluded from Europe.
As a result, Brighton & Hove Albion – who are Palace’s recognised rivals – would take the Garibaldi’s spot in the UECL and, according to a report from The Times, UEFA are hoping to reach a conclusion on the case by the end of this month.
The report also suggests that the aforementioned Forest have written to UEFA with concerns about the Selhurst Park outfit breaching multi-club ownership rules that no individual can have “control or influence” over more than one club competing in the same European competition.
In short, Lyon’s sixth-place finish in Ligue 1 takes precedence over the London club, who finished 12th in the Premier League. Crystal Palace’s spot in the Europa League place could hinge on whether UEFA allow Lyon to feature or not. UEFA’s Financial Control Body (CFCB) disqualified Paulo Fonseca’s side from European football in December and are now being ‘carefully monitored’ ahead of a crunch decision.
In 2024/25, they were allowed to continue their Europa League exploits, which led to them eventually being dumped out at the hands of Harry Maguire’s last-gasp header in their nine-goal thriller against Manchester United, after complying with certain demands.
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Insiders believe, per The Times, that should Lyon retain their spot in Europe’s secondary competition, the Palace case could end up at the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
In the event that the English club were kicked out instead, it’s likely they’d challenge the decision at CAS. Elsewhere, Forest could take the matter to the Swiss court if Glasner’s history-making outfit are able to retain their status as Europa League participants.
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