Crystal Palace risks missing out playing in Europe next season

By David Hellier

Crystal Palace, the Premier League team that won its first ever major trophy at the weekend, faces uncertainty over whether it will play in the lucrative Europa League next season.

Palace qualified for Europe’s second-tier tournament by beating favorites Manchester City in the FA Cup last weekend. But Palace co-owner John Textor also owns a major stake in French team Olympique Lyonnais, which this weekend could also qualify.

UEFA rules stipulate that clubs with common shareholders cannot play in a European competition during the same season.

Lyon finished the French league in sixth place, one place below qualifying for the Europa League. However, next weekend the French league champions Paris Saint-Germain FC take on Reims in the cup final in France.

If PSG win, Lyon will qualify for the Europa League, leaving the two Textor-backed teams playing in the same competition. At present, UEFA rules stipulate that Palace would miss out on playing in the tournament due to their lower position than Lyon in their respective domestic leagues.

The deadline to separate ownership was March 1, meaning Textor is now unable to immediately solve the clash between the two clubs. Textor’s Eagle Football Group owns 45% of Palace, and is the controlling shareholder of Lyon.

Palace has never played in a major European tournament before, and its FA Cup victory took UEFA officials by surprise, according to a person familiar with the matter.

The organizer of the European competition is now assessing whether Textor will be allowed to own shares in both clubs, according to people familiar with the situation.

UEFA officials have already been discussing with Textor over his level of control at the club, according to a person familiar with the matter. During the team’s match last night against Wolverhampton Wanderers, Palace played the Europa League music over its PA system, according to a report from the Guardian.

“I suspect that conversations will be taking place with UEFA with some urgency to get this resolved,” said Simon Leaf, partner at law firm Mishcon de Reya. “UEFA set a precedent last summer with the arrangements with a number of teams, including Manchester United and Nice and Manchester City and Girona and there’s therefore a strong argument that a similar deal should be arranged in this instance.”

Other teams with common ownership have previously preempted the problem. Nottingham Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis recently announced a blind trust arrangement for his ownership in the Premier League team, due to his ownership of the Greek club Olympiacos FC.

Representatives for Palace and UEFA declined to comment.