Football: Crystal Palace FC and the UEFA Europa League
By Prof Dr Ian Blackshaw
The Governing Body of European Association Football (UEFA) has postponed a decision, due on 30 June 2025, on whether Crystal Palace Football Club will be allowed to compete in the 2025-2026 season Europa League Competition.
The Club’s place, earned by winning the FA Cup this year, has been under threat due to the UEFA rules on multi-club ownership, which prevent teams, under the same ownership, from competing in the same European competition.
The co-owner of the Club, John Textor, also co-owns the French Football Club, Lyon, and he has agreed to sell his 44% stake in the English Football Club to help the case.
Lyon were demoted to Ligue 2 last week by the French football authorities due to their poor finances.
They are appealing against that decision, but, if unsuccessful, they have agreed to relinquish their Europa League spot.
In these circumstances, UEFA has decided to await the outcome of the appeal by the French Club before making a decision on the English Club’s participation in the Europa League Competition.
It is not known when the outcome will be known, but UEFA has stated that further information will be announced in “due course”.
On the related topic, see the earlier Post, on the SLT website, by Dr Estelle Ivanova of Valloni Attorneys at Law, Zurich, Switzerland, on ‘Multi Club Ownership and EU Competition Law’.
Prof Dr Ian Blackshaw may be contacted by e-mail at ‘
