Crystal Palace co-owner John Textor desperately trying to SELL stake to stop Eagles being booted out of Europa League
CRYSTAL PALACE co-owner John Textor is trying to SELL his stake in the club to prevent the Eagles being booted out of the Europa League, reports suggest.
Despite winning the FA Cup, the south London club face not being able to compete in the Europa League for the first time ever next season due to Uefa multi-club ownership rules.
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Crystal Palace face not being able to compete in the Europa League due to multi-club ownership rules
Credit: Shutterstock Editorial
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The issue comes from co-owner John Textor, who also owns Lyon
Credit: Getty
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He is now trying to sell his stake in the Eagles less than a month after their FA Cup glory
Credit: AP
American businessman Textor owns a 43 per cent share in the Selhurst Park outfit.
However, his ownership of Ligue 1 side Lyon has placed Palace's place in the competition on the line without a ball even being kicked.
That is because the French outfit have also qualified for next season's Europa League, but due to their superior league position have preference for a spot.
Palace chiefs flew out to Switzerland for a meeting on the shores of Lake Geneva earlier this week for crunch talks with Uefa about the problem.
According to the Daily Mail, those talks lasted for around two hours and ended in Textor putting the club up for grabs to avoid a potential disaster.
He has previously declared his intention to sell when trying to buy Everton, alongside the fact that he only has access to 25 per cent of voting rights at the club.
Speaking to the Mail about the meeting, he said: "Look, all of the UK knows that I don't have decisive influence over Palace. It was a good meeting.
"They listened and we'll see what happens. I wouldn't be trying to sell (his stake) if I did."
The 59-year-old added: "We are trying to help separate it and sell. We wanted to buy but it's become clear that isn't going to happen and so we're trying to help Palace and the situation with UEFA.
"That's about all I can say."
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