Crystal Palace's European D-Day revealed with Eagles facing anxious wait to find out if they'll be booted out or not

Scottish Sun

2 days ago

CRYSTAL BALL Crystal Palace's European D-Day revealed with Eagles facing anxious wait to find out if they'll be booted out or not
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CRYSTAL PALACE are expected to be left in limbo over their European fate until June 27.
The Eagles sealed a place in the Europa League group stages for the first time in their history by beating Manchester City in the FA Cup final.
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Crystal Palace will learn their Europa League fate later this month
Credit: Alamy
But complications around John Textor's stake in both Palace and French club Lyon have resulted in the South Londoners' spot being in doubt.
There was hope at Selhurst Park that a quick resolution would be found, but Uefa's Club Financial Control Body is not expected to announce their decision until the end of this month.
Uefa rules on multi-club ownership prevent any two clubs controlled by the same person or group from competing in the same competition.
Both Palace and Lyon have qualified for next year's Europa League, but the Ligue 1 side would have precedence as they finished higher in their domestic league.
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Textor is the majority owner of Lyon and Palace's largest shareholder at 43 per cent.
The American could have placed his Eagles shares into a blind trust, as many other owners have done to avoid this outcome, though the deadline to do so was March 1.
Palace have already met with Uefa in Switzerland arguing that Textor has no controlling influence at Crystal Palace.
While he is the largest shareholder, the billionaire has an equal 25 per cent voting right and has complained about a lack of control and influence in the past.
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Senior figures at the club are therefore confident that they will be able to find an agreement with Uefa which will see them take part in the Europa League next season.
A resolution could come sooner should Textor simply sell his shares.
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The 59-year-old has been looking to sell his stake in Palace for some time now following a breakdown in relations with chairman Steve Parish.
Textor, who tried to buy Everton last year, is now thought to be open to selling his shares to fellow American investors David Blitzer and Joshua Harris.
Any deal would be difficult to complete in such a short timeframe, though it would immediately put an end to any concerns over breaching Uefa rules.
Were the CFBC to find against Palace, Forest would move up into their Europa League spot from the Conference League while Brighton would find themselves in Europe.