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Crystal Palace have been removed from the 2025/26 UEFA Europa League and relegated to the Conference League, after UEFA’s Club Financial Control Body (CFCB) determined that the Premier League club had breached its multi-club ownership rules due to ties with French side Olympique Lyonnais.
UEFA concluded that both Palace and Lyon, who were due to compete in the Europa League, could not do so simultaneously because of the ownership stake held in both clubs by American businessman John Textor. Textor owns 43.9% of Palace and holds a 77% controlling interest in Lyon through Eagle Football Holdings, exceeding UEFA’s 30% threshold which prohibits significant involvement in more than one club in a European competition.
Although Palace secured their European qualification by defeating Manchester City in the FA Cup final, Lyon’s subsequent Europa League qualification, secured after winning the Coupe de France, created a conflict under Article 5 of UEFA’s competition regulations. The rules stipulate that where two clubs breach ownership limits, only the club finishing higher in their domestic league can participate in the overlapping competition. Lyon’s sixth-place Ligue 1 finish saw them prioritised over Palace, who finished 12th in the Premier League.
Palace chairman Steve Parish expressed his anger and disappointment at the ruling. “We're devastated. It's a bad day for football. It's a terrible injustice,” Parish told Sky Sports. “I do believe nobody wants to see this. I don't think UEFA wants to see this. We've been locked out of a European competition on the most ridiculous technicality. Supporters of all clubs should be devastated for us.
Though Palace argued that Textor had no influence in the day-to-day running of the club, and that the sale of his stake to New York Jets owner Woody Johnson would remove any potential conflict, UEFA maintained the transaction did not meet the 1 March compliance deadline.
UEFA stated:
“Consequently, the CFCB First Chamber pursued the assessment of the documentation submitted by Olympique Lyonnais and Crystal Palace and concluded that the clubs breached, as at 1 March 2025, the multi-club ownership criteria…
- To accept Olympique Lyonnais' admission to the 2025/26 UEFA Europa League; and
- To reject Crystal Palace's admission to the 2025/26 UEFA Europa League and to accept Crystal Palace's admission to the 2025/26 UEFA Conference League.”
A Palace club statement said:
“Crystal Palace F.C. are extremely dismayed by UEFA’s decision to exclude the club from the Europa League. It’s clear for everyone to see that we are not part of a multi-club operation and never have been. Further with the completion of the sale of Eagle football’s shareholding to Woody Johnson there will be zero possibility of a conflict of interest once the competition begins. We will continue to press our case and work with UEFA to achieve the fair and just outcome so that we may take our rightful place in the Europa League, as well as taking legal advice to consider our options, including an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).”
This ruling comes just a year after UEFA allowed Girona and Manchester City, both part of City Football Group, and Manchester United and Nice, linked via INEOS, to compete in European competitions, thanks to a “blind trust” workaround. However, UEFA signalled at the time that such measures would not be a permanent fix, and in the latest regulations moved the compliance deadline up by three months, from June 1 to March 1.
UEFA believes it has acted fairly under the letter of its rules, though Palace remains resolute in its claim that the decision is unjust.
UEFA has yet to confirm the final redistribution of Europa League spots, though Nottingham Forest are in line to benefit, having finished seventh in the Premier League. Forest’s owner Evangelos Marinakis placed his shares in Olympiakos in a blind trust before the March deadline, complying with the same MCO rules that have now caught out Palace.
The club is expected to appeal to CAS, with UEFA already preparing to defend the ruling ahead of the Europa Conference League playoff round draw on August 4.
Featured Image Credit: X / @EuropaLeague, X / @CPFC
