Crystal Palace are set to play in the Europa League this season as a result of winning the FA Cup. This would be their debut season playing in Europe. However, their participation now hangs in the balance. This is in regard to the owners owning other clubs that will participate in the same competition.
The rules state: "No one may simultaneously be involved, either directly or indirectly, in any capacity whatsoever in the management, administration and/or sporting performance of more than one club participating in a UEFA club competition."
Crystal Palace face an anxious wait to discover if they can compete in the Europa League next season, with a decision on their fate not expected until late June. Palace held a meeting with UEFA officials last Tuesday to plead their case to be allowed to play in Europe for the first time.
Palace are said to have missed the deadline on this front and recently held an emergency summit with UEFA in Switzerland, where they explained that Palace and Lyon aren't part of the same ownership group and, 'do not share any staff, facilities or information'.
However, talk of a European adventure has proved slightly premature, with Palace required to meet with UEFA’s club financial control body (CFCB) to show they do not fall foul of its multi-club ownership rules.
John Textor holds a 43% stake in Palace through his company, Eagle Football, while he is also the owner of French club, Lyon, who qualified for the Europa League with a sixth-placed Ligue 1 finish. After Tuesday’s meeting, the CFCB is not expected to make a decision until the end of June.
No individual is allowed to have a significant say in the running of two clubs competing in the same UEFA competition and the CFCB would have to make a ruling on any potential breach.
Palace are understood to be confident that no rules have been breached owing to the fact Textor – through Eagle Football – has only a 25% share of voting rights alongside fellow principal owners, Josh Harris, David Blitzer and chairman, Steve Parish.
Parish is also responsible for the day-to-day running of the club, which has led to past tension with Textor, who had previously tried to sell his shares and take over Everton.
Given Palace believe they have no influence over Lyon and Eagle Football does not have decision-making powers at the Premier League outfit because of the voting structure, the club are hopeful of being able to compete in Europe. If Palace fail to convince the CFCB, Lyon would keep their Europa League spot due to a higher league finish.
Meanwhile, Norwegian club, Brondby, who Blitzer owns, qualified for the Europa Conference League, which prevents the south London club from dropping into that competition.
Nottingham Forest have written to UEFA with their concerns about Crystal Palace participating in the Europa League when they could be in breach of multi-club ownership rules.
Palace met UEFA officials last week in an effort to avoid exclusion from the competition because John Textor, the American businessman who has a 43% stake in the club, also owns Lyon, who have also qualified for the competition. Uefa is looking to rule on the matter by the end of this month.
Nottingham Forest would be promoted from the Conference League to the Europa League should Palace be deemed non-compliant with multi-club ownership rules. The club have been in correspondence with UEFA on the matter.
Palace’s Europa League place could yet hinge on whether UEFA decides to allow Lyon to take part in the competition next season.
UEFA’s Club Financial Control Body (CFCB) disqualified Lyon from European competitions in December but allowed them to continue after the club met certain demands. However, Lyon are being, "carefully monitored" by the CFCB and if they are deemed to be in breach of a settlement agreement; they could be disqualified from next season’s Europa League .
If Lyon are allowed to participate, insiders believe the Palace case could end up at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). If Palace are kicked out, it is likely they would challenge the decision at CAS, while Forest could take the matter to the Swiss court if Palace are still deemed eligible.
If Palace were instead demoted to the Conference League, that, in turn, could lead to a challenge from Brighton & Hove Albion — although it's understood they currently have no intention of doing so. Brighton stand to secure European football if Palace are considered non-compliant with rules that obliged sister clubs to set up separate ownership structures before 1 March if they hoped to play in the same competition next season.
Understandably, Palace feel they deserve to play in the Europa League after winning the FA Cup, their first major trophy.
Rival clubs such as Forest and Brighton did take such steps to separate their ownership structures from those of other clubs in European competitions. The Forest owner, Evangelos Marinakis, diluted his control of the club because he also owns the Greek team, Olympiacos.
Palace chiefs met the CFCB at the UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland, on Tuesday to present their case, arguing that, whatever happens to Lyon, they aren't in breach of the rules as the clubs are not part of the same ownership group and don't share any staff, facilities or information.
Finance expert, Kieran Maguire, has his doubts about whether Forest stand to gain from Palace's situation and said it would "harsh" to kick the south London outfit out of the Europa League when Barcelona were fined a mere €500 000 for financial fair play breaches last season.
Speaking on BBC Radio Nottingham, he explained: "I think the reason why Forest are pushing on this is that the money from the Europa League is more than twice the money from the Europa Conference League and has to be said, if you win the Europa League you qualify for the Champions League and that's a huge incentive.
"It does seem very harsh on Palace, they won the competition fair and square. I think it is slim in the sense that if we take a look at what's happened with some of the other breaches of rules, Barcelona overspent by €250 million euros last season and they were fined €500 000 euros and they weren't booted out of the competition."
"I suspect what UEFA will do, it has to look at its own rulebook and then its a case of what is the appropriate penalty. Would it be more appropriate, for example, for Crystal Palace to be given a fine because it was an administrative error."
Aware of the situation, Forest owner, Evangelos Marinakis moved to separate Forest's ownership structure from his other club Olympiakos - though it didn't matter in the end as the latter made the Champions League after winning the Greek Super League.
Textor has said he would sell his shares in order to secure Palace's place in Europe and the club eagerly await the decision from UEFA.
It's rather an unfortunate situation for Crystal Palace. I believe the onus is on the owners. The team did all that they could and the owners should've had the foresight to sort out the ownership issue well in advance. It would be absolutely heartbreaking for the fans if Palace is given the boot from the UEFA competition/s.
As for Nottingham Forest, I believe what they are doing is dirty. They shouldn't kick the club while its down. They should stay out of the situation and see what happens. There shouldn't be any outside interference.