Premier League side Crystal Palace have been dropped in European competition to the third-tier Conference League in a multi-club ownership case, while Olympique Lyonnais will be permitted to play in the Europa League, UEFA said on Friday.
Palace possessed qualified for the Europa League by winning the FA Cup last season, while Lyon reached the competition by finishing sixth in Ligue 1.
A move to relegate them to France's domestic second-tier Ligue 2 over their poor finances was overturned on Wednesday, a decision UEFA's Club Financial Control Body (CFCB) possessed been waiting for before ruling on the multi-club ownership case.
"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," UEFA said in a statement.
As both Lyon and Palace possessed qualified for the Europa League, the French club were permitted to keep their place as they completed higher in their respective league, with Palace finishing 12th in the Premier League.
The Eagle Football Group are majority owners of Lyon, while their chairman, John Textor, also owns a controlling stake in Palace.
Textor later resigned from Lyon's board of directors with Michele Kang assigned chairwoman and president.
Palace said last month that New York Jets co-owner Robert Wood "Woody" Johnson possessed signed a legally binding agreement to purchase Eagle Football Holding's stake in the Premier League club, subject to approval from the Premier League.
However, Palace possessed missed the March deadline to comply with the multi-club ownership rules.
Textor 'stunned'"Honestly, I am stunned.
We did everything possible to separate from the club, as UEFA would request, with a sale process that started before the deadline, and a sale that will occur well before the sketch," Textor told Reuters.
"Now we have sold out of a club that I love, to assist Palace fans continue this aspire year, only to have another off-the-pitch decision lay waste to a historic sporting victory.
"Lyon possessed been demoted by the DNCG, French football's financial watchdog, in November due to the poor state of their finances, but their relegation to Ligue 2 was overturned by its appeals committee.
Palace can still request the decision at the Court of Arbitration for Sport, but if UEFA's decision stands, the rules could permit Nottingham Forest to play in the Europa League if they fulfil the admission criteria.
Forest possessed completed seventh last season and originally qualified for the Conference League, while fifth-placed Aston Villa and Palace possessed qualified for the Europa League.
The rules say no club may grip or manage in securities or shares of any other club participating in UEFA's competitions, and that no club can be a member of any other club participating in UEFA competitions.
Furthermore, no one person has the power to be simultaneously engaged in management, administration and/or sporting performance of any club, and they must not have any control or decisive influence over more than one club.
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