US billionaire John Textor sells stake in bid save Crystal Palace's European status
John Textor has sold his stake in Crystal Palace in a bid to meet Uefa 's rules and ensure the club's participation in the Europa League next season.
The US billionaire has sold his 42.9 per cent stake to controversial tycoon Woody Johnson for around £200m, subject to approval from the Premier League.
This should clear the path for Palace to keep their place in Europe next term, satisfying Uefa that the FA Cup winners are not in breach of multi-club ownership rules.
The Independent understands that an official verdict from the European football governing body is expected in the coming days.
The Eagles' first voyage into continental football was under threat due to Textor's position at the club, due to the fact he also owns a 77 per cent stake in Ligue 1 outfit Lyon - who akin to Palace are competing in next season's Europa League.
To prevent collusion, Uefa does not allow multiple clubs under the same owner to compete in one of its competitions, and in the case that two teams under a multi-club model qualify for the same tournament, the side that achieved the better finish in its domestic season gets priority. Lyon finished sixth last term and qualified via their league position, while Palace finished 12th.
Palace's failure to adapt their shareholdings structure prior to the Uefa deadline of March 1 meant they were in breach of competition guidelines and could have been expelled from the Europa League.
Palace argued that their historic FA Cup triumph and subsequent Europa League qualification were achieved on their own merit rather than via the benefits of a multi-club system, and that the response to eject them from the competition would be disproportionate.
They also refuted that they operate under such a multi-club model - something Nottingham Forest wrote to Uefa to express concerns about - with Textor previously holding just 25 per cent of the voting rights.
It appears the club have now addressed the issue, with contentious New York Jets owner acquiring Textor's stake. The Jets faced scrutiny last year after reports of 'controversial and dysfunctional practices' under his watch.
Textor's sale means the businessman is fully out of the Palace picture, losing all influence previously had at the club.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
BBC News
10 minutes ago
- BBC News
Rodgers reflects on 'inspiration' Clark
Brendan Rodgers reflected on the death of "absolute inspiration" John Clark, who passed away at the age of 84."'Greatness' is a word people throw around, but for John Clark it is a very fitting tribute," the Celtic manager told the club's website."John was instrumental in delivering our greatest day ever and his achievement is forever etched in Celtic's proud history."John's continued presence at Celtic across so many decades I know served as an absolute inspiration to so many players, managers and staff, including myself very much."To have him with us, as part of the club for so long has been a tremendous privilege for us all, it meant so much to us. "Through his knowledge, his wisdom and his true love for Celtic, John has made such an important contribution to the club.""I know John was loved so dearly by his family, by everyone at the club and our supporters. "We will all miss him so much."
BBC News
11 minutes ago
- BBC News
Does Jackson have a discipline problem?
"Stupid, stupid, stupid mistake"That was how former Chelsea midfielder John Obi Mikel described Nicolas Jackson's red card against Flamengo in the Club World Cup on Friday took just four minutes from coming on as a late substitute for the striker to be walking back off the pitch after being sent off for a studs-up was the latest incident to lead to questions around Jackson's 24-year-old is now suspended in two competitions simultaneously having also been sent off in the Premier League in May in a then crucial game against Newcastle his eight yellow cards, it means Jackson has a combined record of 10 cards across all competitions this were already question-marks around the Senegal forward's discipline when he first arrived in the last campaign after he picked up five bookings in his first six league games leading to an early hoped he had put that behind him when he received just five more across the rest of the these latest incidents have once again left supporters and onlookers asking if this is a bigger his arrival from Villarreal in 2023, Jackson has the joint-most red cards among Chelsea players alongside Reece he does not come out on top for total yellow cards or combined cards (fourth and third respectively), it is worth noting who the other players are that are above Caicedo leads the way with 28 bookings, but as a defensive midfielder, yellow cards come with the is a similar story with Marc Cucurella and Enzo Fernandez, as defenders and midfielders it is almost expected that you will pick up these cards as you try and stop attacks and break up you do not want your striker up front to be a pushover, you do want them to be clever in how they hold up the ball and battle with the opposition's timing of Jackson's latest suspensions also means he is giving new arrival Liam Delap a free hit in the central striker role for although the latest Blues recruit is not exactly squeaky clean on the pitch himself - with 14, Delap picked up more yellow cards than Jackson last term - he has yet to be sent off in his senior football is a striker playing on the edge always a problem?Former Blues forward Diego Costa had a notoriously fiery persona and picked up 30 yellow cards across his three seasons in west London - although, perhaps somewhat surprisingly, just the one red legend Didier Drogba could also walk the discipline tightrope and notched up a combined 64 cards across 381 appearances for with the contributions they offered in front of goal, it felt very much part of their game and helped them provide what they did on the pitch - an area supporters are yet to be convinced of with concerning is Jackson's latest sending off? Can it be accepted as part of his game? Or does he need to change the way he plays?Let us know
The Independent
12 minutes ago
- The Independent
Why Crystal Palace's European adventure could be back on track
John Textor has sold his 42.9 per cent stake in Crystal Palace to Woody Johnson for approximately £200m. The sale was made to comply with UEFA 's multi-club ownership rules and secure Crystal Palace's participation in next season's Europa League. UEFA regulations prevent multiple clubs under the same owner from competing in the same European competition, a conflict arising from Textor's ownership of both Palace and Lyon. Crystal Palace had previously failed to adapt their shareholding structure by UEFA's March 1 deadline, putting their European qualification at risk. The transaction, which is subject to Premier League approval, is expected to clear the path for Palace to retain their place in the Europa League.
