rystal Palace enjoyed one of the finest memories in their club history last Saturday as they beat Manchester City 1-0 in the FA Cup final – but reports are now suggesting that they may be banned from competing in the Europa League next season.
With Wembley roaring from start to finish, none other than Eberechi Eze put the icing on the cake of a well-worked goal in the 16th minute and, although it was against the run of play, Pep Guardiola’s men were unable to respond to the Englishman’s strike.
The Eagles broke their major trophy curse and, as the players stood on the balcony, a sense of European football came over the Selhurst Park contingent because, as the rules state, the FA Cup winner gets Europa League action for the following season.
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In the midst of the utter jubilation, there could be an issue with Palace fans already looking to free up their calendar ahead of booking flights across the continent – and it’s all thanks to a little-known rule in the UEFA handbook, per The Evening Standard.
That’s because co-owner John Textor’s Eagle Football Group also own French side Olympique Lyonnais, who were knocked out of this season’s iteration of the Europa League by Harry Maguire’s last-minute header in their quarter-final with Manchester United in mid-April.
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Paulo Fonseca‘s Lyon are a regular competitor in the continent’s second tier club competition and UEFA state that no individual can have “control or influence” over more than one club competing in a European competition. On the integrity of multi-club ownership, the 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.”
Multi-club ownership group Eagles – spearheaded by a familiar face in south London, Textor – owns 43% of the Premier League outfit and boast a controlling 88% share of Lyon, who are currently sat sixth in the Ligue 1 standings.
That does mean that Los Phoceens, as things stand, are destined for the Europa Conference League – but should Paris Saint-Germain defeat Reims in the Coupe de France final on Saturday, they’d move up as the cup winners’ spot would move down a place as PSG have already qualified for Europe’s top table.
Oliver Glasner’s side could, therefore, find themselves in hot water if UEFA can prove that Textor has influence on both clubs. Should the competition organisers find that a regulation had been breached, Palace would be demoted to the Conference League.
That’s because, irrespective of their final day result against champions Liverpool, Lyon would take preference as they are categorically going to finish higher in the French top flight than Palace will in the Premier League.
That said, The Evening Standard’s report claims that Palace – who currently reside 12th in England’s primary division – remain confident that no rules will be breached and that they are in line to feature in the Europa League once the 2025/26 campaign gets underway.
