Exclusive: UEFA to make snap judgment call on Crystal Palace after major Lyon update
Crystal Palace’s bid to avoid exclusion from the Europa League next season has received a surprise boost.
That is the view of football finance expert Dan Plumley, who told Football Insider exclusively that Lyon’s relegation may impact the Eagles’ future in Europe.
Despite earning their place in next season’s Europa League by beating Man City in the FA Cup final, Palace’s first foray into European competition has been jeopardised by John Textor.
The American businessman is the majority shareholder of the Eagles and Ligue 1 side Lyon, and both teams qualified for Europe’s second-tier competition.
However, this violates UEFA‘s rules on multi-club ownership, and the 59-year-old missed the deadline to put his Palace shares in a blind trust in March.
In a bid to aid Palace’s case to the European governing body and avoid expulsion from the Europa League, Textor has agreed a deal to sell his shares to New York Jets owner Woody Johnson.
But in a new twist, Lyon have been relegated to Ligue 2 by French football’s financial governance group, DNGC, which could have ramifications on the Eagles’ place in Europe.
UEFA to wait before making Crystal Palace decision
Speaking exclusively to Football Insider, finance expert Plumley explained what the impact of Lyon’s relegation could have on Palace’s place in the Europa League.
Whilst their case remains up in the air, even in spite of Textor selling his shares, if UEFA decide to also take action against the French side and remove them from the competition, the Eagles should be able to compete without issue.
However, the European governing body will wait before making a judgment call, according to the senior lecturer from Sheffield Hallam University.
Plumley said: “There’s lots wrapped up in this, we need to wait for the appeal first from Lyon.
“If you look in terms of the time frame, that’s done by the DNCG, which is the financial body that controls French football.
“Now, there have been instances in the past where they’ve relegated clubs and then they’ve appealed and won that appeal.
“In terms of a time frame, I think we need to wait and see on that one.
“And the other interesting thing then with Palace of course, is that John Textor has sold his stake in Palace very recently, but that’ll take a little bit of time to go through the paperwork as well to bring the new person in from an owners and directors test at the Premier League level.
“This is going to be one for the governing bodies to decide ultimately, because you’ve got lots of things in play here that kind of need to have a conclusion to look at where you go next.
“However, a couple of those things won’t happen as quickly as UEFA need them to in terms of the competition framework. It’s going to be end up being a real judgement call and it’ll be based on UEFA’s view on the Lyon situation and the Palace situation with Textor having sold his shares.
“They’ll have to make a judgement call fairly quickly on which way they decide to go with that.”
Crystal Palace looking to get summer business started after John Textor debacle
Heading into the summer, Palace‘s main priority was to strengthen their squad ahead of a busy 2025/26 season.
That was until the Textor debacle threw any and all plans out of the window, with the Eagles’ only focus now on convincing UEFA to allow them entry into European competition.
But with it looking like the club will be allowed to compete in the Europa League after all, Palace have turned their attention towards Mateus Fernandes, Mick Brown told Football Insider.
The talented Portuguese midfielder would add quality, and potentially more importantly, depth, to Oliver Glasner‘s squad.