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The body governing football in Europe UEFA have announced that Crystal Palace has been demoted from the Europa League due to its multi-ownweship that involves them and Lyon.
UEFA announced that Crystal Palace have been moved from the Europa League to the Conference League after the body confirmed that they could not participate in the same competition as Lyon.
Crystal Palace qualified for rhe 2025/26 Europa League following their victory over Manchester City in the FA Cup. On the other hand, Lyon also qualified after they finished sixth in Ligue 1 and earning their own Europa League spot.
What did Crystal Palace do wrong?
Crystal Palace owner, Textor owns shares in both clubs and under UEFA's multi-club ownership rules, clubs with the same ownership group cannot play in the same competition. Any conflicts of interest for next season had to be sorted by March 1. He later sold 43 percent of his shares at Palace.
He also resigned from his leadership roles at Lyon when they were relegated to Ligue 2 after failing to convince authorities they have resolved their financial difficulties. This appeared to pave the way for Palace's Europa League participation.
What does UEFA rule say about multi-club ownership?
Clubs are not allowed to compete in the same UEFA competition if they share an owner that has a decisive influence over both teams. Textor has denied having such an impact at Palace but that has proved immaterial in UEFA’s decision-making.
"Subject to Paragraph 4.05, a club that is not admitted to the competition is replaced by the next-best-placed club in the top domestic championship of the same association, provided the new club fulfils the admission criteria and the status of the competition allows such a replacement, safeguarding the sporting integrity of the competition. In such case, the access of the relevant association is adjusted accordingly."
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