Palace's Euro hopes boosted as Textor sells stake to Jets owner
PA Media/dpa
London
Crystal Palace's hopes of playing in Europe next season appear to have been boosted after shareholder John Textor sold his stake in the club to New York Jets owner Woody Johnson.
Textor's shares in Palace threatened to be an obstacle to their participation in the Europa League next season because the American is also a shareholder in French side Lyon, who are set to enter the same competition.
Under UEFA multi-club ownership rules, it looked as though Palace would miss out.
However, Palace announced on Monday that Textor's 45% stake in the London club has been sold to Johnson, subject to Premier League and Women's Super League approval.
A club statement read: 'Crystal Palace Football Club can confirm that Robert Wood Johnson, 'Woody', an American businessman and co-owner of the New York Jets, has signed a legally binding contract to purchase Eagle Football's holding in the club.
'Whilst the completion is pending approval from the Premier League and Women's Super League, we do not envisage any issues and look forward to welcoming Woody as a partner and director of the club.
'We would like to go on record to thank John Textor for his contribution over the past four years and wish him every success for the future.' Reports have placed the price between £160 million ($214.13 million) and £190 million.
The sale may now free Palace up to play in the Europa League, for which the Eagles qualified thanks to their FA Cup final victory over Manchester City last month.
Textor, who through his Eagle Football Holdings group also owns a significant stake in Brazilian side Botafogo, initially invested in Palace in 2021. The PA news agency understands a decision regarding Palace's participation is expected from UEFA before the end of June.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Qatar Tribune
a day ago
- Qatar Tribune
Oil falls over 7% as Iran focuses retaliation on US military base
Agencies New York Oil prices sank more than seven percent on Monday after Iran attacked a US military base in neighboring Qatar in retaliation for US weekend strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities. Futures for West Texas Intermediate fell 7.42 percent to $68.36 a barrel, while Brent oil futures dropped 7.34 percent to $71.36 a barrel, its lowest level in 10 days. A US defence official said there were no known American casualties from the incident, which analysts said did not appear to be near key oil infrastructure. John Kilduff of Again Capital described the Iranian action as 'somewhat measured' and apart from population centers. 'This is a face-saving measure by the Iranians and hopefully the diplomatic off-ramp will be taken,' Kilduff said. The Iran-Israel clash has focused worry on the Strait of Hormuz, a strategic waterway for seaborne oil that has long been used by Iran as a geopolitical bargaining chip. Tehran has for decades threatened to close the strait every time tensions soared, but never acted on its warning. But Kilduff said, 'it's pretty clear that this is not going to turn into – right away at least – any kind of impact on oil flows in the region, particularly the Strait of Hormuz.' President Donald Trump on Monday also demanded that 'everyone' keep oil prices down or they would play 'into the hands of the enemy,' as the conflict in the Middle East escalates following US strikes on Iran. Trump's message comes after the US bombed Iran's key nuclear sites over the weekend, putting the world on edge that the Islamic Republic might target energy supplies in the Middle East and cause a spike in global oil prices. It wasn't clear who specifically Trump was speaking to in his post, though he seemed to be addressing the US oil industry. Some oil companies had warned earlier in the year that they might have to cut production after prices tumbled to multiyear lows on Trump's tariffs and OPEC+ boosting supply. 'To The Department of Energy: DRILL, BABY, DRILL!!! And I mean NOW!!!,' Trump said in a subsequent post on Monday. Oil production decisions in the U.S. are made by private companies in response to market dynamics. The Energy Department does not drill for oil. 'As the President said, producers must keep oil prices down or risk playing into the hands of the enemy,' White House spokesperson Harrison Fields said when asked who Trump was addressing. Equities remained restrained, with the dollar getting a modest safe-haven bid and no sign of a rush to bonds. Some market participants hoped Iran might back down, with its nuclear ambitions curtailed, or even that regime change might bring a less hostile government to power there. 'That said, any sign of Iranian retaliation or threat to the Strait of Hormuz could quickly shift sentiment and force markets to reprice geopolitical risk more aggressively,' said Charu Chanana, chief investment strategist at Saxo. The Strait of Hormuz is only about 33 km wide at its narrowest point and around a quarter of global oil trade and 20 percent of liquefied natural gas supplies passthrough it. Analysts at JPMorgan cautioned that past episodes of regime change in the region typically resulted in oil prices spiking by as much as 76 percent and averaging a 30 percent rise over time. Goldman Sachs warned prices could temporarily touch $110 a barrel should the critical waterway be closed for a month. World share markets, especially in Asia, struggled. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell 0.9 percent, dragged down by shares in Taiwan which closed 1.42 percent lower, while Chinese blue chips closed higher 0.3 percent and Japan's Nikkei eased 0.1 percent. Japan's manufacturing activity data on Monday showed a return to growth in June after nearly a year of contraction, but demand conditions remain.
Qatar Tribune
a day ago
- Qatar Tribune
After 26 aces combined, Osaka holds off Danilovic
WTA Homborg (Germany) In a battle of serving excellence at the Bad Homburg Open powered by Solarwatt on Monday, former World No. 1 Naomi Osaka came out on top. Osaka of Japan edged past Serbian qualifier Olga Danilovic 7-6(6), 7-6(4) in a gripping first-round showdown at the WTA 500 grass-court event. Currently ranked 57th in the PIF WTA Rankings, Osaka took 2 hours and 5 minutes to best World No. 37 Danilovic. This year's leader in percentage of first-serve points won, Osaka had 16 aces, although Danilovic was not too far behind with 10 aces of her own. 'It's my first grass-court win of the year, so I'm really excited about that,' Osaka said on court, after the match. 'I think I have potential [on grass], but everyone else is also really good,' the main-draw wild card continued. 'I can never take it for granted, the wins. Just super excited that I won today.' The victory halts Osaka's three-match losing streak. After a Round-of-16 loss to Peyton Stearns at Rome, Osaka fell to Top 20 players in her next two matches: Paula Badosa in the Roland Garros first round and Liudmila Samsonova last week in Berlin. With a win under her belt, Osaka now advances to a second-round meeting with No. 5 seed Emma Navarro of the United States. Navarro defeated Osaka in their only previous meeting, which was also on grass – a 6-4, 6-1 win for the American at Wimbledon last year. Meanwhile, another former World No. 1, Victoria Azarenka, also won her Bad Homburg first-round match on Monday. Two-time Australian Open champion Azarenka moved past wild card Laura Siegemund 6-2, 6-2. Azarenka will now face former World No. 1 Iga Swiatek in the second round.
Qatar Tribune
a day ago
- Qatar Tribune
Palace's Euro hopes boosted as Textor sells stake to Jets owner
PA Media/dpa London Crystal Palace's hopes of playing in Europe next season appear to have been boosted after shareholder John Textor sold his stake in the club to New York Jets owner Woody Johnson. Textor's shares in Palace threatened to be an obstacle to their participation in the Europa League next season because the American is also a shareholder in French side Lyon, who are set to enter the same competition. Under UEFA multi-club ownership rules, it looked as though Palace would miss out. However, Palace announced on Monday that Textor's 45% stake in the London club has been sold to Johnson, subject to Premier League and Women's Super League approval. A club statement read: 'Crystal Palace Football Club can confirm that Robert Wood Johnson, 'Woody', an American businessman and co-owner of the New York Jets, has signed a legally binding contract to purchase Eagle Football's holding in the club. 'Whilst the completion is pending approval from the Premier League and Women's Super League, we do not envisage any issues and look forward to welcoming Woody as a partner and director of the club. 'We would like to go on record to thank John Textor for his contribution over the past four years and wish him every success for the future.' Reports have placed the price between £160 million ($214.13 million) and £190 million. The sale may now free Palace up to play in the Europa League, for which the Eagles qualified thanks to their FA Cup final victory over Manchester City last month. Textor, who through his Eagle Football Holdings group also owns a significant stake in Brazilian side Botafogo, initially invested in Palace in 2021. The PA news agency understands a decision regarding Palace's participation is expected from UEFA before the end of June.
