UEFA DEMOTES CRYSTAL PALACE TO CONFERENCE LEAGUE OVER MULTI-CLUB OWNERSHIP BREACH
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By: Sefiu Ajape
Crystal Palace have been demoted from the Europa League to the UEFA Conference League due to a breach of UEFA’s multi-club ownership regulations, the European football governing body announced on Friday.
The decision stems from the ownership structure involving American businessman John Textor, who holds a stake in Crystal Palace and is the majority owner of French club Lyon—another side that secured Europa League qualification.
Under UEFA’s rules, two clubs with shared ownership cannot compete in the same European competition.
As Lyon finished higher in their domestic league (6th in Ligue 1) compared to Palace (12th in the Premier League), Lyon retain their Europa League spot.
Palace had earned a historic European berth by winning the FA Cup in May—the club’s first major trophy.
Textor has since agreed to sell his 43 percent stake in the London club to New York Jets owner Woody Johnson.
However, that deal is yet to be completed and was struck well after UEFA’s deadline of March 1 for multi-club conflicts to be resolved.
A decision on Palace’s fate had been delayed by a separate case that initially saw Lyon relegated to the second tier of French football due to financial problems.
The seven-time French champions won an appeal against that decision on Wednesday after Textor stood aside from the day-to-day running of the club.
Palace are expected to appeal the verdict to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
Nottingham Forest, who had qualified for the Conference League by finishing seventh in the Premier League last season, will replace Palace in the Europa League, a UEFA source told AFP.
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