Crystal Palace are set to meet UEFA to seek European football qualification after a row over shared ownership rules.
The issue comes after American billionaire John Textor, who is Palace’s majority shareholder and also owns a stake in French club Lyon, which also qualified for the Europa League.
UEFA rules do not allow clubs with the same ownership group to compete in the same competition. If there is a dispute over which clubs should qualify, it will be determined by their domestic league position – Lyon finished sixth in Ligue 1, while Palace finished 12th in the Premier League but qualified for the Europa League by winning the FA Cup in a surprise win over Manchester City.
To make matters worse, Palace could also be denied a place in the Conference League, as Textor also owns shares in Danish club Brondby, which also qualified.
It may seem confusing, but Palace are confident they have a strong argument to make to UEFA, and they are prepared to present the facts that Textor holds a 43% stake in Palace through his company, but only has the same 25% voting rights as other shareholders.
Textor has actual control over the management of Lyon. แทงบอล UFABET ราคาดีที่สุด ไม่มีขั้นต่ำ But at Palace, it is chairman Steve Parish who is in control of everything, including no player trading or sharing of resources between the two clubs.
Texter has complained about not having full control of Palace and is already looking for someone to buy out the shares.
The problem is, if he is going to use the option of placing the shares in a blind trust, as the owners of Man United and Forest have done in the past, to avoid UEFA rules, it may be too late now. The rules have required that since March.
If UEFA finds Palace have broken the rules, Nottingham Forest will get a chance to play in the Europa League instead, while Brighton, who were initially out of the competition, will get a place in European football.