Urooj Niazi 
palace banned from uel over ownership rules
UEFA confirmed the ban on the club from taking part in the Europa League next season. The move has seen an uproar from the Crystal Palace chairman, Steve Parish, that it is the greatest injustice in football history. The Crystal Palace Europa League suspension resulted from the stringent multi-club ownership policy that was set by UEFA.
John Textor who is an American businessman owns 43 percent of Crystal Palace through his Eagle Football company but also owns 77 percent of French club Lyon. The two teams, Crystal palace and Lyon, qualified to play in the Europa League and have therefore been denied permission to play in the same European League because of this particular rule in the UEFA setting.
The qualification of Crystal Palace to the Europa League was as a result of their victory in the FA Cup,whicht resulted in a stunning 1-0 win over Manchester City. Their jubilation however did not last long with the commencement of the UEFA multi-clubs ownership investigation. The regulations provided by the governing body are in place to ensure that there is no collusion of clubs owned by either individual or group of individuals.
UEFA told Crystal Palace they had until March 1, 2025, to demonstrate to them that they had restructured their ownership to meet multi-club rules. Regrettably, Crystal Palace did not make this obligatory deadline which had them automatically relegated to Conference League in lieu of Europa League.
Crystal Palace Chairman Calls Decision “Biggest Injustice”
The Crystal Palace chairman, Steve Parish, was furious about this decision by UEFA. “We are heartbroken”, Parish said to Sky Sports. “It is not a good day to be playing football. It is a dreadful wrong.”
This is notwithstanding the ownership stakes of Textor in Crystal Palace, which, as Parish reiterated, is fully independent of Lyon. He was very clear that “everybody is aware that we are not in a multi-club arrangement. There is no sharing of personnel. We are tangled in a regulation that was not placed before us.”
What Happens Next for Crystal Palace
Crystal Palace is expected to challenge with the Court of Arbitration in Sports against the decision made by UEFA. Parish has affirmed that the club shall contest against the ruling by adding that, “We shall request the appeal court to hear our points of contention.” The appeal to the Crystal Palace is their final resort in hoping to have the Europa League ban lifted.
Usage As Lyon is in a higher place in its domestic league than Crystal Palace, it stands ahead of the latter in the Europa League. The French club fought back to ensure that it got the sixth position in Ligue 1, whereas Crystal Palace finished in 12th position in the Premier League. In determining this ranking, Lyon was to continue enjoying the Europa League position during the time the conflict occurred.
The misfortune of Crystal Palace may help Nottingham Forest, which ended seventh in the Premier League. Forest has a chance of acquiring the Europa League spot of Crystal Palace, pending the outcome of the appeal.
Paradoxically, Lyon have themselves avoided relegation in Ligue 1 this year because of financial difficulties by successfully appealing. Provided the relegation of Lyon stood, the club would have been automatically out of the Europa League, and Crystal Palace would have replaced them automatically.
