Crystal Palace have been dropped from the Europa League to the UEFA Conference League after breaching European football’s multi-club ownership rules, UEFA confirmed on Friday.
The decision comes as a result of the club’s ownership structure. American businessman John Textor holds a stake in Palace while also serving as the majority owner of French side Lyon, who also qualified for the Europa League. Under UEFA regulations, two clubs owned by the same individual or entity are not allowed to compete in the same European competition.
Lyon, who finished sixth in Ligue 1, will retain their Europa League place ahead of Palace, who ended last season in 12th position in the Premier League but booked a European spot by winning the FA Cup, their first ever major trophy.
Textor has since agreed to sell his 43 percent stake in Crystal Palace to New York Jets owner Woody Johnson, but the deal was reached after UEFA’s March 1 deadline for resolving multi-club ownership conflicts and is yet to be finalised.
Palace’s fate had been hanging in the balance pending the outcome of a separate issue involving Lyon, who were initially relegated to the French second division due to financial irregularities. That ruling was overturned earlier this week after Textor stepped back from day-to-day operations at Lyon.
The Premier League side is now expected to appeal UEFA’s ruling at the Court of Arbitration for Sport in a bid to reclaim their Europa League place.
In the meantime, Nottingham Forest, who finished seventh in the Premier League last season, are set to move up and take Palace’s spot in the Europa League, according to UEFA sources.
