Crystal Palace are confident they will be able to compete in the Europa League next season, despite co-owner John Textor’s Eagle Football group also owning Lyon.
UEFA regulations state that no individual can have “control or influence” over more than one club competing in a European competition.
Multi-club ownership group Eagle, fronted up by American businessman Textor, owns a 43 per cent stake in Palace and a controlling 88 per cent share of French club Lyon.
Palace have qualified for a major European competition for the first time in their history, securing a Europa League place for next season by beating Manchester City at Wembley last Saturday to win the FA Cup.
Lyon are destined for the Conference League, after finishing sixth in Ligue 1, but would move up to join Palace in the Europa League if Paris Saint-Germain beat Reims in the Coupe de France final on Saturday, with the cup winners’ spot in France then moving down a place in the league due to PSG having already qualified for the Champions League.
That would potentially cause a problem for Palace, if UEFA could prove that Textor had a controlling influence in both clubs.
If UEFA concluded its regulations had been breached, Palace would instead play Conference League football next season while Lyon would stay in the Europa League. That is because however Palace fare at Liverpool on the final day of the Premier League season, they will finish lower in the league than Lyon did in Ligue 1, so Lyon would take preference.
But Standard Sport understands that Palace are confident there would be no breach, and that while UEFA are aware of the potential conflict of interests, they will only assess the situation once Lyon’s place in the Europa League has been confirmed.
UEFA’s rules state: “No individual or legal entity may have control or influence over more than one club participating in a UEFA club competition, (including) holding a majority of the shareholders’ voting rights; having the right to appoint or remove a majority of the members of the administrative, management or supervisory body of the club; being a shareholder and alone controlling a majority of the shareholders’ voting rights pursuant to an agreement entered into with other shareholders of the club; or being able to exercise by any means a decisive influence in the decision-making of the club.”
None of those clauses apply to Textor, who does not have such influence at Palace.
Despite Eagle’s 43 per cent stake in Palace, Textor only has a 25 per cent voting right in the club, the same as co-owners Steve Parish, Josh Harris and David Blitzer each enjoy. Operationally, the club is not run by Eagle or Textor but rather by chairman Parish.
Textor has previously given interviews expressing his frustration at not having controlling influence over Palace, asserting his desire to either do so in the future or to instead buy control of a different leading English club.
UEFA regulations also state: “No club participating in a UEFA club competition may, either directly or indirectly, hold or deal in the securities or shares of any other club participating in a UEFA club competition; … be involved in any capacity whatsoever in the management, administration and/or sporting performance of any other club participating in a UEFA club competition; or have any power whatsoever in the management, administration and/or sporting performance of any other club participating in a UEFA club competition.”
In other words, no individual can have a controlling influence over more than one club competing in a UEFA competition. Neither Palace nor Lyon has a share in the other, and the two clubs do not share assets, information or staff. UEFA would find no conflict there.
The rules add: “No one may simultaneously be involved in any capacity whatsoever in the management, administration and/or sporting performance of more than one club participating in a UEFA club competition.”
The extent of that final part is less clearcut and if UEFA took issue with Textor’s involvement, it would likely be on this clause.
If they did - and Palace privately believe they will not - then Textor may follow Evangelos Marinakis in placing either club in a blind trust in a year, thereby pausing any involvement or “influence”.
Marinakis placed Nottingham Forest in a blind trust because he is the controlling shareholder of both Forest and Olympiacos, both of which will be in Europe next season.
