UEFA have put off their verdict on whether Crystal Palace will be disqualified from next season's Europa League. Football's governing body have yet to make a decision which puts Palace's first ever campaign in Europe up in the air due to ownership complications. Victory in the FA Cup final against Manchester City booked Palace a slot in the 2025-26 Europa League, but John Textor's stake at Selhurst Park has caused a bit of a stir.
Textor, who previously held a 43 per cent share of Palace, also owns a majority of Ligue 1 side Lyon, sparking a potential conflict with UEFA's regulations on multi-club ownership. A recent sale of his Palace shares to Woody Johnson, owner of the New York Jets, hasn't closed the case.
And UEFA remains tight-lipped about when they will deliver a ruling. Complicating matters further, Irish squad Drogheda and Slovakia's Dunajska Streda have both been kicked out of competing in the Conference League following similar investigations.
A statement from UEFA read: "Finally, the CFCB First Chamber has decided to postpone its assessment of the multi-club ownership case involving Olympique Lyonnais and Crystal Palace."
Olympique Lyonnais has been hit with a potential exclusion from the 2025/26 UEFA club competitions due to a breach of financial sustainability requirements, as UEFA have declared: "This postponement relates to Olympique Lyonnais' compliance with the settlement agreement concluded with the CFCB First Chamber for its breach of the financial sustainability requirements.
"As part of this settlement, Olympique Lyonnais agreed on an exclusion from the 2025/26 UEFA club competitions should the French authority (DNCG) confirm the club's relegation to Ligue 2."
"Further details on this multi-club ownership case and this settlement agreement will be communicated in due course."
The 59-year-old mogul Textor gave up his stake in Palace last week. Palace said: "Crystal Palace Football Club can confirm that Robert Wood Johnson, 'Woody', an American businessman and co-owner of the New York Jets, has signed a legally binding contract to purchase Eagle Football's holding in the club.
"Whilst the completion is pending approval from the Premier League and Women's Super League, we do not envisage any issues and look forward to welcoming Woody as a partner and director of the club. We would like to go on record to thank John Textor for his contribution over the past four years and wish him every success for the future."