Africa-Press – Mauritius. UEFA announced on Friday that Olympique Lyonnais will be permitted to play in the Europa League, but Premier League team Crystal Palace has been demoted to the third-tier Conference League in a multi-club ownership case.
Lyon is primarily owned by the Eagle Football Group, and its chairman, John Textor, also holds a majority position in Palace.
Lyon made it to the Europa League by placing sixth in Ligue 1, while Palace qualified by winning the FA Cup the previous season.
UEFA’s Club Financial Control Body (CFCB) awaited a judgement on the multi-club ownership case, and on Wednesday, it reversed a move to demote them to France’s domestic second-tier Ligue 2 due to their dire financial situation.
“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.
The French team was permitted to retain their spot since they placed better in their respective leagues, with Palace placing 12th in the Premier League, even though both Lyon and Palace had qualified for the Europa League.
The Court of Arbitration for Sport is still where Palace can file an appeal of the ruling.
Last month, Palace announced that Robert Wood “Woody” Johnson, a co-owner of the New York Jets, has agreed in writing to purchase Eagle Football Holding’s share of the Premier League team, pending Premier League permission.
Palace, however, had failed to adhere to the multi-club ownership regulations by the March deadline.
According to the regulations, no club is allowed to own or deal in the securities or stock of any other club that is taking part in UEFA competitions, nor is it permitted to be a member of any other club that is taking part in UEFA competitions.
Additionally, no one individual may be involved in the management, administration, and/or athletic performance of more than one club at the same time, nor should they have any authority or decisive influence over more than one club.
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