Crystal Palace to meet UEFA officials on Tuesday over multi-club ownership rules
Palace qualified for the Europa League after they stunned Manchester City at Wembley to clinch FA Cup final success on May 17 and in the process secured the first major trophy in the club's history.
It booked Palace and their fans a ticket on a European tour, but the Premier League outfit must show UEFA's club financial control body (CFCB) on Tuesday that they do not fall foul of its multi-club ownership rules.
John Textor holds a 43 per cent stake in Palace through his company Eagle Football and he is also the owner of French club Lyon, who qualified for the Europa League with a sixth-placed finish in Ligue 1.
No individual is allowed to have a significant say in the running of two clubs competing in the same UEFA competition and the CFCB would have to make a ruling on any potential breach.
PA understands Palace are confident no rules have been breached owing to the fact that Textor – through Eagle Football – has only a 25 per cent share of voting rights alongside fellow principal owners Josh Harris, David Blitzer and chairman Steve Parish.
Parish is also responsible for the day-to-day running of the club, which has led to past tension with Textor, who had previously tried to sell his shares and take over Everton.
Given Palace believe they have no influence over Lyon and Eagle Football does not have decision-making powers at the Premier League outfit because of the voting structure, the club managed by Oliver Glasner are hopeful of being able to compete in Europe.
If Palace fail to convince the CFCB that no rules have been breached, Lyon would keep their Europa League spot due to a higher league finish. Meanwhile, Brondby, who Blitzer owns, qualified for the Europa Conference League.
This could prevent Palace from entering the Europa Conference League, which could open the door for Brighton to benefit.
Palace's failure to compete in the Europa League would see their spot transferred to seventh-placed Nottingham Forest.
It would mean Forest's previous Europa Conference League qualification berth would go to the next highest team in the Premier League, which is Brighton in eighth.
A UEFA spokesperson said: 'Please be informed that decisions regarding multi-club ownership cases for the 2025-26 season will be announced in due course during June. We do not comment on individual club cases until an official decision has been made.'
Last summer, the CFCB cleared Manchester City and Girona, owned by the City Football Group, to take part in the Champions League and INEOS-owned Manchester United and Nice to compete in the Europa League.
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