Crystal Palace have been demoted from the UEFA Europa League to the Conference League for the upcoming season, European football’s governing body, UEFA, has ruled.
The decision stems from a breach of multi-club ownership rules. American businessman John Textor, through his Eagle Football holding company, owns a stake in Palace and is also the majority owner of French club Lyon, who have also qualified for the Europa League.
UEFA’s regulations state that two clubs with the same majority owner cannot compete in the same competition to prevent any potential conflict of interest. In such cases, the team with the higher domestic league finish takes precedence. Lyon finished sixth in Ligue 1, while Crystal Palace, despite winning the English FA Cup, finished 12th in the Premier League.
The South London club has confirmed they will appeal the ruling with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).
Palace’s European prospects were thrown into jeopardy earlier this week when Lyon successfully won their appeal against an administrative relegation from Ligue 1, thus confirming their Europa League spot. Had Lyon been demoted, they would have been excluded from European competition, clearing the path for Palace.
The Premier League side had argued to UEFA that Textor, who holds a 43% stake, does not have decisive influence at Selhurst Park and that the club operates entirely independently. They also pointed to the fact that Textor agreed in June to sell his shares to New York Jets owner Woody Johnson, although that deal has not yet been completed.
However, UEFA’s ruling indicates that these arguments, and the fact that Textor recently resigned from his leadership position at Lyon, were not sufficient to satisfy their regulations.
Should Palace’s appeal fail, their place in the Europa League could be taken by Nottingham Forest, who finished seventh in the Premier League last season. Aston Villa hold England’s other allocated spot after finishing sixth.
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