‘Crystal Palace have one last way to stay in Europa League – UEFA’s case is weak’
Crystal Palace are set to make a last-ditch attempt to be allowed in next season’s Europa League.
The Eagles were demoted to the Conference League by UEFA, after they breached multi-club ownership rules.
John Textor had a stake in Palace as well as French side Lyon, which became an issue when both clubs qualified for the Europa League.
Textor has since sold his shares in the South London club, who have in turn taken the case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), with a hearing set for August 11.
Everton’s former chief Keith Wyness – who served as CEO at Goodison Park between 2004 and 2009 and now runs a football consultancy advising elite clubs – believes that Palace have one last way to remain in the Europa League.
‘Palace have less than 50% chance of winning case’
This article contains exclusive comment from Keith Wyness, former Everton, Aston Villa, and Aberdeen CEO.
Speaking on the new edition of Football Insider’s Inside Track podcast, Wyness insisted that Palace must highlight the fact that Textor is now not involved in the club and that Woody Johnson has bought his shares, as it could weaken UEFA’s case.
Johnson was officially appointed as a director at Palace after agreeing a deal worth a reported £190million.
Wyness added that there is less than a 50% chance that the South London club win their appeal.
He told Football Insider‘s Inside Track podcast: “In the Palace situation, if we are really going to look for football to be put first, and prove that things won on the pitch are more important than being won in the legal appeal courtrooms, then Palace should get back in Europa League.
“The chances are less than 50%, but they’ve got a chance, and I really hope they win. I think they have a case and the Woody Johnson thing can’t have hurt. It does have a bearing on the case because they can say, look, we’ve cleaned up the whole mess with Textor, so please let us go now.
“It’ll all come down to whether Palace can prove that there are situations where the March 1st deadline was weakened or softened for different situations, like for Forest.
“If so, then that weakens the UEFA case considerably. So let’s wait and see. It’s going to be coming in a matter of days. We’ll have a lot to discuss about it, but that’s the way I’d be facing it if I were in Palace’s shoes right now.”
‘Liverpool make Guehi transfer decision’
Meanwhile, Liverpool are reportedly preparing to make a fresh offer to sign Marc Guehi from Crystal Palace in the final weeks of the transfer window.
That is according to former Man United and Blackburn chief scout Mick Brown, who claims that the 25-year-old remains one of the top targets at Anfield.
Arne Slot’s side are determined to strengthen their defensive options before the window closes, despite the current focus on a deal for Alexander Isak.
This comes after Football Insider revealed on 28 July that Liverpool still have a “concrete” interest in Guehi and are lining up a fresh offer in the coming weeks.
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