Crystal Palace could be THROWN OUT of Europa League with fierce rivals benefiting as owners jet to emergency summit
CRYSTAL PALACE will meet with Uefa in a bid to avoid missing out on European football.
The Eagles must convince Uefa‘s Club Financial Control Body (CFCB) that co-owner John Textor’s position does not breach their rules – and failure to do so could allow rivals Brighton a route into Europe.
American billionaire Textor is Palace’s largest shareholder and also owns French side Lyon – who have also qualified for the Europa League.
Uefa rules prevent two clubs from the same ownership group from participating in the same competition and where there is a conflict the spot will go to the team who finished highest in their domestic league.
Palace finished 12th but qualified for Europe due to their shock FA Cup victory over Manchester City, while Lyon finished sixth in Ligue 1.
They will also not be able to drop into the Conference League due to Textor’s stake in Danish side Brondby, who qualified for that compeition by finishing third.
The Eagles are confident that they have a strong case, though a result is not expected for around two weeks.
While Textor owns around 43 per cent of the club via his Eagle Football Group, he has just 25 per cent of the voting share – the same as other shareholders.
An individual holding the majority of the shareholders’ voting rights at both clubs is against Uefa’s rules.
While Textor has operational control at Lyon, chairman Steve Parish runs Palace on a day-to-day basis.
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The two do not have a good relationship and Textor has long been looking to sell his stake after complaining about a lack of control.
Palace will also argue that there are no shared assets or player trading between the two clubs.
Owners of both Manchester City and Manchester United have had to take steps, including placing shares in blind trusts, to avoid such issues in recent seasons.
Nottingham Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis placed his shares in the club into a blind trust when it looked like they would qualify for the Champions League alongside the Greek businessman’s other club, Olympiakos.
However, it is thought to be too late for Textor to use the option of a blind trust – with rules dictating that move would have had to have been made by March this year to satisfy Uefa.
Were the CFBC to find against Palace, Forest would move up into their Europa League spot from the Conference League while Brighton would find themselves in Europe.