UEFA make rule change after kicking Crystal Palace out of Europa League
UEFA are reportedly set to change their multi-club ownership rule that has led to Crystal Palace being demoted from the Europa League, with Nottingham Forest expected to take their place.
Palace were jubilant after winning the FA Cup last season, knowing it secured them a place in European football after claiming their first piece of major silverware.
But it quickly emerged that the Eagles' place in the Europa League was at risk because shareholder John Textor was also the majority owner of French club Lyon, who are also set to compete in the same competition, and they have now been kicked out.
Because Lyon finished higher in Ligue 1 (sixth) than Crystal Palace did in the Premier League (12th), they take precedence over the South London outfit for next season's Europa League.
Textor ended up selling his 43 percent stake in Palace to New York Jets owner Woody Johnson, but the Premier League club still missed UEFA's deadline of March 1, 2025 to show proof there was no signs of multi-club ownership.
There were hopes that the problem had been alleviated after Lyon were relegated to Ligue 2 amid their financial troubles, but that decision has now been reversed after the Ligue 1 side's appeal was successful.
According to the Telegraph, UEFA will "quietly shuffle away" their rule on multi-club ownership after the huge uproar over the controversial decision to kick Palace out. It adds that by next year the March deadline will be "consigned to history" as Palace now look to take their fight to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).
Previously, Manchester City successfully overturned a two-year ban from the Champions League in 2020 within four months after appealing to the CAS.
The news has been difficult to digest for Palace, with chairman Steve Parish condemning UEFA's decision as "one of the greatest injustices that has ever happened in European football".
'We are devastated, and supporters of all clubs should be devastated for us," he said. "It's like winning the lottery, going to the counter and not getting the prize. It is a bad day for football. Most right-minded football fans will see what a terrible injustice this is. I don't think Uefa want to see this, clubs that rightfully qualify for a competition being locked out on the most ridiculous technicality that you can imagine.
'Everybody knows we are not part of a multi-club model. We were never part of one. I didn't have anyone's phone number there [at Lyon] before this process began. It is such an incredible travesty of justice.
'There is a real crossroads here for Uefa. Do they intervene and do the right thing? Or do they let this process play out and see probably one of the greatest injustices that have ever happened in European football?"
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