UEFA regulations hinder Crystal Palace's participation in the Europa League

Crystal Palace’s stunning triumph in the FA Cup, where they defeated Manchester City in the final, should have marked the beginning of an exciting new chapter in the club’s history: a long-awaited return to European competition.

By winning England’s oldest and most prestigious domestic cup, the South London club secured a direct place in the group stage of the 2025/26 UEFA Europa League. However, what should be a celebratory occasion has quickly turned into a bureaucratic and regulatory headache one that could ultimately deny them the chance to compete on the continental stage.

At the heart of the issue lies Crystal Palace’s ownership structure. John Textor, a prominent American businessman, holds a significant stake in the club. But he is also an investor in Olympique Lyonnais, one of France’s top clubs. This overlap has triggered a potential conflict with UEFA’s multi-club ownership regulations, which are designed to prevent teams with the same or shared owners from participating in the same European competition during a single season. These rules are aimed at maintaining the integrity of UEFA competitions, ensuring there is no conflict of interest or the possibility of collusion between teams under the same ownership.

The timing of this problem could not be worse. Olympique Lyon has just clinched sixth place in Ligue 1, which currently grants them a spot in the UEFA Europa Conference League. However, that could change very soon. Should Paris Saint-Germain win the upcoming Coupe de France final against Stade Reims, one of France’s Europa League spots would be passed down the league table a common redistribution mechanism in UEFA’s qualification system. This would bump Lyon up from the Conference League to the Europa League, placing them in direct competition with Crystal Palace and triggering UEFA’s ownership restriction.

In such a scenario, only one of the two clubs would be allowed to take part in the Europa League. UEFA’s current policy states that when such conflicts arise, the club that finishes higher in its domestic competition receives priority. That puts Crystal Palace at an immediate disadvantage, since their route to Europe came through a cup win and not through league position. Olympique Lyon, by virtue of their sixth-place finish in Ligue 1, would therefore be granted the spot if both teams qualified effectively blocking Palace from participation.

This is not the first time UEFA’s multi-club ownership rules have created complications. However, there are precedents where creative legal and structural arrangements have been used to navigate the rules. For example, Sir Jim Ratcliffe a billionaire investor involved with both Manchester United and OGC Nice was able to allow both clubs to compete in the Europa League by placing his shares in a blind trust, a legal structure that separates control and influence over the clubs during European competition. Similarly, Evangelos Marinakis, who owns both Nottingham Forest and Olympiakos, has publicly committed to a similar arrangement to avoid running afoul of UEFA rules.

Unfortunately for Crystal Palace, John Textor did not take such precautionary measures. According to a report by Bloomberg, the deadline for restructuring ownership or placing shares in a blind trust was March 1st. At that time, neither Crystal Palace’s FA Cup run nor Lyon’s late-season surge toward the European spots seemed likely to create such a conflict. Textor reportedly did not anticipate that both clubs could qualify for the same competition, and therefore missed the opportunity to create a legal buffer that would satisfy UEFA’s requirements.

Now, Crystal Palace are in a race against time. Club officials are said to be exploring alternative legal pathways and lobbying UEFA for a possible exemption or workaround. Sources close to the club suggest that they may attempt to argue that the circumstances were unforeseeable and request leniency, especially given the unique nature of their FA Cup victory and the club’s desire to participate in Europe for the first time in its history. However, such exceptions are rarely granted and would likely require compelling justification and support from the English FA.

For now, the club’s European fate hinges on the outcome of the French Cup final. Should Stade Reims pull off an upset against Paris Saint-Germain, Olympique Lyon would remain in the Conference League, and Crystal Palace’s Europa League place would be safe. But if PSG win as expected, UEFA’s rules will force a difficult decision, and Palace may be left watching from the sidelines despite earning their qualification on the pitch.

This situation has reignited the broader debate around multi-club ownership in football. While investment groups argue that owning stakes in multiple clubs promotes global synergy, talent development, and financial sustainability, critics warn of growing risks to sporting integrity, particularly when clubs with shared ownership face off in the same competitions. UEFA has taken a firmer stance in recent years, but as the number of multi-club groups continues to grow, further controversies and regulatory dilemmas appear inevitable.

Crystal Palace fans, who have waited decades for the club to make its mark on the European stage, now face an anxious wait. What should have been a historic celebration could turn into one of the most frustrating missed opportunities in the club’s recent history not because of what happened on the pitch, but because of what didn’t happen in the boardroom.