By Femi Fabunmi
English Premier League side, Crystal Palace’s spot in next season’s Europa League is in big doubt due to a breach of UEFA’s club ownership rules.
The problem centers around Palace co-owner John Textor, who also has a major stake in French club Lyon. Since both teams qualified for the Europa League, UEFA rules prevent one person from having influence over more than one club in the same competition.
Findings show that UEFA has already rejected Textor’s attempt to place his Palace shares in a blind trust to meet the rules.
Another option dropping Palace to the Conference League also faces complications, as Palace’s majority shareholder, David Blitzer, owns Danish club Brøndby, which could also qualify for that competition.
If Palace cannot resolve the situation, UEFA may hand their Europa League place to Nottingham Forest, while Brighton & Hove Albion would take the available Conference League spot.
It would be recalled that Palace qualified for the UEFA Europa League after defeating Manchester City 1-0 in last season’s FA Cup at Wembley stadium.
Initially, two teams have been penciled down to play in the Europa League, Aston Villa and Crystal Palace but all that could change if UEFA axes Palace due to breach in rules.
Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (
Syndigate.info
).
