Crystal Palace may have to wait until the end of June to learn if they can compete in the 2025-26 Europa League, with UEFA deliberating over a potential conflict of interest involving multi-club ownership. The uncertainty stems from Palace’s connection to Eagle Football Holdings, which also controls French side Lyon.
Club representatives, including co-owner Steve Parish, travelled to UEFA headquarters in Switzerland earlier this week to present their case. Palace are arguing that John Textor, who owns a 45% minority stake in the Premier League club through Eagle Football, does not exert “decisive influence” over operations and should not be considered in breach of UEFA’s rules.
The regulations are designed to prevent one individual or group from controlling multiple clubs competing in the same European tournament to ensure integrity and prevent conflicts of interest.
While Palace earned their Europa League spot by defeating Manchester City in the FA Cup final, Lyon also qualified after finishing sixth in Ligue 1 and benefiting from Paris Saint-Germain’s Coupe de France win, which bumped Lyon from the Conference League into the Europa League.
Since league placement takes precedence over domestic cup wins when assessing eligibility in such cases, Lyon currently holds the advantage. If UEFA finds that Textor’s involvement in both clubs represents a breach, Palace could be barred from participation.
Initially, a decision was expected within a week of Palace’s UEFA meeting. However, sources familiar with the case now believe a ruling won’t come until late June, as UEFA legal teams review the complex ownership and control structure.
Ownership Tangle
John Textor became involved with Crystal Palace in 2021, investing around £90 million for his minority stake. He later acquired a majority holding in Olympique Lyonnais in 2022 and expanded his football portfolio with Brazilian club Botafogo and Belgian side RWD Molenbeek, all under Eagle Football Holdings.
Despite owning a significant portion of Palace, Textor is not the majority stakeholder, with operational control resting primarily with chairman Steve Parish and fellow board members Josh Harris and David Blitzer. Textor himself has publicly stated that he does not run the club but simply provides input when needed.
Textor has been trying to offload his Palace stake over the past year and even expressed interest in buying Everton. Eagle Football insists that Palace is not part of its official multi-club structure because of the minority holding and lack of player or resource exchanges with its other clubs.
Indeed, the only example of player movement between these clubs involved Jake O’Brien, a Palace academy product who was sold to Lyon and now plays for Everton.
Precedents and Possible Solutions
UEFA has dealt with similar issues before. Nottingham Forest’s Evangelos Marinakis recently placed his stake in the English club into a blind trust to meet UEFA’s multi-club ownership rules when both Forest and Greek side Olympiakos were in contention for Champions League qualification.
However, sources close to Eagle Football suggest this route isn’t feasible for Palace, as they don’t have majority control and therefore cannot make decisions such as establishing a blind trust without the cooperation of other shareholders.
With Palace awaiting UEFA’s decision, their participation in the Europa League—and the associated revenue and prestige—remains in doubt. A ruling in Lyon’s favour could deny the Eagles a rare chance to compete in European football, despite their historic FA Cup victory.
Both Crystal Palace and UEFA declined to comment on the ongoing situation when approached by BBC Sport.
As the summer transfer window approaches and pre-season plans begin to take shape, Palace and their supporters must sit tight. Their European dreams now rest in the hands of UEFA’s legal team.
