Why Crystal Palace may be kicked out of Europe: How do the club plan to defend their case? And what will the impact be? All the key questions answered

Daily Mail​

4 days ago

As the tickertape fell and Dave Clark's Glad All Over belted out across Wembley's speakers, generations of Crystal Palace fans embraced.
The unthinkable had unfolded before their eyes. Their street-smart Eagles had defeated the billionaires of Manchester City to win the FA Cup and secure the first major trophy for the Selhurst Park cabinet.
Through the tears and the hugs and the smoke, attention turned to the Royal Box, and the forthcoming hoisting of that iconic silverware. But as the beaming, disbelieving red and blue hordes finally started to make their way back across the river, the excited chatter was of a European adventure.
Finally, finally, some of the continent's bright lights would be heading to Croydon - and those Eagles themselves could now dream of flying overseas to watch their team in action.
Days after their FA Cup win, Palace played the Europa League music to a still delirious support on a joyous night when Wolves visited Selhurst Park
All eyes on Tuesday, however, will be on a European trip of a very different kind. This afternoon, a group of executives have a high-stakes meeting with UEFA executives among the worrying prospect that those dreams may soon be shattered.
The issue is a story modern football. Like many others, members of Palace's ownership group have stakes in other clubs. And like many others have experienced, that can come with baggage.
UEFA are not mad keen on multi-club ownership models. That's why they have rules around them. Put simply, clubs with the same owners cannot play in the same competitions for obvious reasons of integrity. And, given the growth of such models, it is an ongoing situation that has caused headaches across the top flight and beyond.
Palace's position is complex. The club's majority owner is the American businessman John Textor, who holds around 43 per cent of the shares. Textor is also the majority shareholder at Lyon, who also happen to have qualified for the Europa League.
UEFA has relaxed its rules - starting from last season - to allow clubs under the same groups to compete in different competitions. While not ideal, that may have left the door open for Palace to drop into the Europa Conference League.
The problem here, however, is that the investment vehicle of David Blitzer, the director who has an 18 per cent stake in the Eagles, is the majority owner of Danish outfit Brondby, who are in a play-off to enter the same competition.
The rules state that in such circumstances the club which finished in the higher place in its domestic league gets the slot. And so for Palace, who finished 12th and below both Lyon and Brondby, that door appears to be closed.
That the club are in this position may come as a surprise. Those involved are serious players. Big-hitters. For this to have not already been addressed will raise eyebrows. There may well be some sympathy, however, given few outside the Palace dressing room will have seen their victory over Pep Guardiola's side coming.
It is likely that Palace will argue that 59-year-old Textor has no control over football operations and that his majority stake only entitles him to 25 per cent of the voting rights. They could also say that he is actively seeking to sell his stake. The latter argument is unlikely to trigger much movement.
UEFA declined to comment but based on previous instances they are unlikely to accept a compromise. It is expected that Textor will make the case himself.
Should that case fall on deaf ears it may well leave owner and club in a tight spot. As a business operator, Textor is unlikely to have an appetite for a forced sale. The situation is widely known within football. The prospect of potential buyers knowing the backdrop is unlikely to push the price to an acceptable level.
He has previously spoken of his dismay over his perceived lack of input at Selhurst Park and was, at one point, keen on moving for Everton. But a lightning-speed sale is unlikely given the amount of due diligence required.
To rub salt into wounds, should a solution not be found, one of the main beneficiaries could be Palace's old foe. Their rivalry with Brighton may be smirked at elsewhere, but it is real and it is raw. Brighton finished eighth and so would be at the front of the queue to step in if Palace end up dropping out.
And what of the club's star players? European competition is an enticing carrot to dangle when you're a mid-sized club punching above its weight. The likes Marc Guehi and Eberechi Eze, both heavily linked with moves elsewhere, may well be relishing an opportunity that could yet be taken away.
And then there is the further impact of a loss in extra revenue that extra matches brings. Gate receipts, prize money and TV cash can be key to a club without the wealth of some of its rivals.
Others have been here before and have acted accordingly. Manchester United, for example, told the world that Sir Jim Ratcliffe and INEOS would be controlling football operations at Old Trafford, which left them scrambling given their ownership of Nice. Subsequently, a blind trust was set up for the French side which allowed both to play in the Europa League.
Elsewhere directors at Manchester City's sister club Girona stepped down and were replaced by independent lawyers in order to allow both sides to play in the Champions League while Nottingham Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis took pre-emptive moves to step away from the club should they and his Greek side Olympiakos have qualified for the Champions League this season. Chelsea and Aston Villa have also had to deal with issues given their own portfolios.
On its corporate-looking website, Textor's Eagle Football Holdings Limited describes itself as 'created to acquire interests in community-minded football businesses in Europe, South America, and the United States'.
It adds that it 'is principally focused on those clubs and communities that are most likely to benefit from the collaboration synergies that can be achieved through a multi-club model of common ownership'.
It ends: 'With a complete portfolio of highly collaborative football clubs, our focus is now to demonstrate the effectiveness of collaboration across our family of clubs to maximize the competitive success of each of our clubs.'That collaboration however, may now backfire.
A decision on Tuesday is thought to be unlikely, although time is of the essence given the draws for the early rounds of European competition take place on June 17.
While it may not have the drama of May's stunning victory under the arch, it could well form another key moment in Crystal Palace's long history.