Latest news with #multiClubOwnership
Telegraph
an hour ago
- Business
- Telegraph
Uefa making an example of Crystal Palace would be farcical
The regulations for Uefa's club competitions determine that no two clubs may have the same owner, management or administration, although when that has presented a problem, Uefa have, by their own admission, found a way around it. As the Uefa president Aleksander Ceferin said himself, the organisation tends to adapt when it suits them. 'There are clubs,' he remarked in April 2023, 'or at least one – where we still pretend it's not the same owner [as another] but it's the same owner, and I will not tell you which. You can guess.' Pretending that the multi-club ownership [MCO] issue does not matter has been Uefa's way of dealing with one of the biggest phenomena of modern football. It is why RB Leipzig and Red Bull Salzburg can both play in the Champions League despite sharing an energy drink benefactor and a very famous director of football, in Jürgen Klopp. It is why City Football Group can list Manchester City and Girona among their 13 clubs and both could play in the Champions League last season. The same has been done provisionally for Nottingham Forest and Olympiakos, under the ownership of Evangelos Marinakis. Or Manchester United and Nice under the Ineos ownership. Football is good at pretending. In this case, Uefa is satisfied when an owner's shares of one or the other club are placed in a blind trust. Then the problem simply goes away. Crystal Palace, this season's FA Cup winners, are faced with the kind of administrative nightmare that might see them kicked out of the Europa League because they failed to do the necessary pretending by a certain Uefa deadline. The US investor John Textor, whose company Eagle Football owns around 40 per cent of Palace, did not put that share in Palace in a blind trust by March 1, an MCO deadline brought forward by Uefa this year. As a result of Eagle Football's control of Ligue 1 Lyon, also in the Europa League next season, Palace could find themselves ejected from the competition. Uefa works on the basis that Article 5 of their regulations governing MCO seeks to prohibit a single individual having 'decisive influence' across more than one club. Textor's influence on Palace is so decisive that the joke goes that his share of the club is the most expensive season ticket in the Premier League. Everyone knows Palace is run by its chairman Steve Parish – via his alliance with the two key US investors Josh Harris and David Blitzer – and between them they control the club. Those three, as well as Textor, met Uefa officials last week to explain it. Palace and Lyon do not share a single member of staff. No player has ever been loaned between the clubs. They do not share scouting or recruitment systems or indeed any commercial deal. The sum total of their interaction is the £1 million deal for Jake O'Brien to join Lyon two years ago. Yet this is to be the first MCO test case that might see a Premier League club thrown out of its rightful European competition. There may yet be an MCO issue for Palace with Blitzer's stake, via his MCO company Global Football Holdings, in Brondby. That could jeopardise Palace playing in the Europa Conference League, should Brondby make it through qualifying. But it is the Europa League in which Palace belong. That is the competition they reached by winning the club's first major honour. A competition that is Palace's best chance of signing players who previously would have looked elsewhere. A competition they might just win under a manager, Oliver Glasner, who has won it before with an outsider. This is Palace's chance to climb the ladder – and they have earned it. All that is at risk because an investor with no decisive influence, at a club which has no MCO relationship with Palace did not place his shares in a blind trust three months ago. Why that deadline had been moved forward by Uefa from June 1 last year is not clear. Either way, by March 1, Palace were only just playing their fifth-round tie against Millwall. The rule presupposes that Textor should put his shares in Palace in a blind trust every year on the off-chance the club might win a trophy they had never won before. Either way, had they thought of it at the time, Parish, Blitzer and Harris could not compel Textor to do so – they could only ask him. At Uefa and the European Club Association, there is a willingness to find a way for Palace to play their first season in Europe. They have been here before. Palace had thought that a historic third-place finish in 1991 would be good enough for a place in the Uefa Cup. That season Arsenal won the First Division and Liverpool were second, still banned from Uefa competition for 10 years following the 1985 Heysel disaster. Then in April 1991, Uefa lifted Liverpool's ban after six years and they took the English Uefa Cup place. Forest believe that next season's Europa League place should be theirs. Marinakis placed his shares in a blind trust, in case Forest reached the Champions League as well as Olympiakos. Under the terms of Uefa's rules, Forest would have been compliant and Marinakis determined by Uefa to be not a decisive influence at the club from March 1. Although anyone who thinks Marinakis is not a decisive influence at Forest has really not been paying attention to events off the pitch as well as on it. Meanwhile, Textor's share in Palace has become the key element in a farce that is growing by the day. Public filings show that Textor controls 65 per cent of Eagle Football which itself has around 40 per cent of Palace. That puts him personally in control of less than 30 per cent of Palace – a key threshold for Uefa in determining decisive influence. Uefa's MCO regulations were introduced to stop collusion, corruption and all those other unwanted consequences people used to imagine might be the motive for one person running two or more clubs. They were not brought in to punish clubs with back-seat investors like Textor who have stakes in multiple clubs. Football has changed and the world's wealthiest owners want to own more than one club for reasons that do not include fixing football matches. Caught in the middle of it are Palace, who at last have a chance of doing something remarkable and now have had their sleeve snagged on a rule that was never intended for occasions like this.
The Sun
11 hours ago
- Business
- The Sun
Crystal Palace set to learn Europa League fate this week as co-owner looks to buy out John Textor
JOSH HARRIS wants to buy out John Textor in the latest tug of war at Crystal Palace. Textor owns around 45 per cent of the club and was planning to make a move on Harris and David Blitzer — who have 18 per cent each — to purchase their shares. 3 3 3 But that has failed so far — with Textor now willing to sell up to avoid Palace being booted out of the Europa League due to Uefa's rules on multi-club ownership. The European governing body's regulations mean Textor, majority owner of Lyon, cannot have influence at two clubs in the same competition. But a sale is unlikely to be quick and will not impact the decision of Uefa chiefs. And Harris is looking to pay a smaller sum than his US compatriot wants. Textor, whose Palace club won entry to the Europa League through winning the FA Cup, does not have a majority stake and only 25 per cent of voting rights. Palace hope that relatively low figure will help their case with Uefa, who are expected to deliver a verdict next week. Lyon are also set to feature in the competition having finished higher than Palace domestically, with a sixth-placed finish in the Ligue 1 last season. Uefa rules prohibit anyone from "simultaneously be involved in any capacity whatsoever in the management, administration, and/or sporting performance of more than one club participating in a Uefa club competition." The prospect of Palace dropping into the Conference League is also nigh-on impossible too. This is because other shareholder David Blizter also has a stake in Danish oufit Brondby, who are set to play in European football 's tertiary club competition next season. In a desperate bid to see the Eagles fly across Europe next season and comply with Uefa rules, Textor and Blizter offered to put their shares in a blind trust. But Uefa chiefs have REJECTED the offer, leaving Palace's proposed European adventure next season in limbo.
BBC News
4 days ago
- Business
- BBC News
Gossip: Eagles owner at risk of breaking Uefa rules
Crystal Palace part-owner John Textor, who also owns French side Lyon, is trying to sell his majority share in the Premier League team, as the Eagles try to avoid being disqualified from the Europa League next season for breaking Uefa's multi-club ownership rules. (Mail), externalWant more transfer stories? Read Wednesday's full gossip column Follow the gossip column on BBC Sport
Daily Mail
5 days ago
- Business
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE Crystal Palace's desperate bid to avoid being KICKED OUT of Europe begins at UEFA's HQ in Nyon, as they plead their case to keep their spot - and avoid Brighton being let in instead
Crystal Palace will present what they feel is a strong argument in Nyon today as their emergency meeting with UEFA got underway at the 'House of European Football'. Palace are desperately bidding to avoid being kicked out of Europe due to rules on multi-club ownership - which could hand arch-rivals Brighton a spot in European competition in their place. Today's meeting kicked off at 1pm at UEFA's headquarters, on the shores of Lake Geneva in Nyon, Switzerland. Mail Sport understands that it is scheduled to last for an hour and is taking in a downstairs meeting room at the sprawling, glass and chrome facility. Palace are due to present their argument and officials will then go away and take time to consider a decision which is likely to be forthcoming later this month. The Eagles secured a historic place in the Europa League following their shock FA Cup final victory over Manchester City but now face the prospect of seeing their continental dream wrecked due to rules on multi-club ownership - and arch-rivals Brighton could take their place. US businessman John Textor owns around 43 per cent of Palace's shares but is also the majority shareholder at French club Lyon, who qualified for the same competition - and UEFA regulations prevent two clubs with the same ownership from participating. One potential route for Palace - who believe they have a strong case to avoid any sanction - could have been to drop into the Conference League. However, Danish outfit Brondby, owned by Palace co-owner David Blitzer, will be in line to take that slot. The rules state that in multi-club groups the club which finished in a higher league position take precedent in such circumstances. Lyon ended their season in sixth, Brondby – who are in a Europa Conference play-off - in third and Palace 12th. Mail Sport understands the onus iso n the south London club to find a palatable solution at the Swiss showdown. Doing so may prove tricky in a complex situation which is being closely monitored elsewhere. Other top-flight sides with multi-club groups have gone to great lengths to ensure they comply with UEFA's rules. Manchester City, Manchester United and Nottingham Forest have all been forced into action, while Chelsea and Aston Villa have also faced issues. Palace declined to comment. However, it is understood they are confident that they will be able to participate in the Europa League. Their argument is thought to be that there is no relationship between Palace and Lyon in that no facilities, assets or players are shared between the two and that Textor does not make decisions at Selhurst Park in his own right thanks to his quarter share of voting rights along with three others. Textor only holds 25 per cent of voting rights alongside chairman Steve Parish and other partners Josh Harris and Blitzer and has no say over the club's operation. Whether that will be enough to satisfy UEFA execs remains to be seen. Textor has previously spoken of his frustration over his perceived lack of input and at one stage explored buying Everton. Another route out would be for Textor to sell his stake at break-neck pace, but he is unlikely to do so unless the price is right. That may be unlikely in the event of what may well be viewed as a forced sale. Textor could also place his shares into a blind trust should he have the appetite to do so. Timing may be an issue, according to those with knowledge of the situation. Should Palace be denied, it would see Forest elevated to the Europa League while old rivals Brighton would then take the slot in the Europa Conference. It may also have serious financial ramifications and may well impact on the club's recruitment and retention plans. The ending of the dream of playing in Europe would come as a massive blow not only to Palace's fanbase but also to its players. The club played the Europa League anthem at Selhurst Park at their last home game of the Premier League season. 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.'
Times
21-05-2025
- Business
- Times
Crystal Palace confident ownership rules will not deny them Europa League
Crystal Palace are confident that Uefa's rules on multi-club ownership will not prevent them taking up a place in next season's Europa League. The US businessman John Textor, who owns 43 per cent of Palace's shares, is also the majority shareholder of French club Lyon, who could also qualify for the Europa League. Uefa says clubs owned, controlled or operated by the same entity cannot play in the same competition, and for this season that required a number of clubs to be placed into 'blind trusts' to avoid conflicts of interest. Palace believe that as Textor has no say over the operation of Palace they already comply with the rules. Textor only has 25 per cent of the voting rights at Palace, alongside the chairman
