Aleksander Ceferin John Textor Crystal Palace
(Credit: Getty Images)
Stefan Borson
Mon 7 July 2025 12:19, UK
Uefa doesn’t believe John Textor after he made a “crazy” Crystal Palace claim that could see them miss out on a Europa League place.
Textor has agreed to sell his Palace shares to New York Jets owner Woody Johnson in a move to help the club play in the European competition next season.
Textor’s ownership of Lyon has presented a stumbling block after the French side also qualified for the Europa League, with Uefa’s rules prohibiting clubs controlled by the same owners or directors from competing in the same European competition.
It has been reported the American billionaire was instrumental in bringing Oliver Glasner to Selhurst Park.
However, The Times reported on 1 July Palace have provided evidence to Uefa to prove Textor had no involvement in hiring the Austrian manager last year.
Finance expert Stefan Borson exclusively told Football Insider Uefa doesn’t believe Textor and has a lack of trust in the information he’s been providing.
MORE FOOTBALL INSIDER STORIES
The governing body has postponed a decision on whether to allow Palace to play in the Europa League until after Lyon’s domestic appeal against their relegation.
The French side were relegated to Ligue 2 last month due to their financial issues.
Everton
John Textor has agreed to sell his Crystal Palace shares (Credit: Getty Images)
John Textor has created Crystal Palace ‘problem’ in new reveal
Borson insisted it could be hard for Palace to convince Uefa that Textor wasn’t involved in Glasner’s appointment.
He told Football Insider: “It’s been very hard to find the precise answer because everybody’s got a different sort of take on it, which tells you that actually it’s a situation that’s not leaking and the information has been held quite closely at Uefa, which is impressive and unusual because everybody’s got a different version of it.
“What I think is clear is that the regulators both the DNCG at Lyon, but also the Uefa team at the CFCB do not believe John Textor.
“They have a lack of trust in what Textor tells them, and that’s a problem for obvious reasons.
“But I think in terms of what it means for Crystal Palace, we understand he went into the CFCB, which is the adjudicatory part of Uefa on this conflict point and said that he was involved in the appointment of Glasner, which was a crazy thing to admit to them.
“Crystal Palace has then had to go in and say ‘Hang on a minute, that’s not true. He didn’t have any part to play and here’s all the emails that prove that we made the decision without him’.
“The problem is he’s told Uefa that he did have involvement.
“It’s very hard to unwind the principle telling Uefa that.”
Club Stake (%)
Crystal Palace (England) 43
Botafogo (Brazil) 90
Olympique Lyonnais (France) 77.49
RWD Molenbeek (Belgium) 80
Eagle Football Holdings’ portfolio
Arsenal make move to sign Crystal Palace star
In terms of a potential exit at Selhurst Park, Football Insider revealed on 30 June Arsenal have enquired about Eberechi Eze’s availability and have held talks with his representatives over a move to the Emirates Stadium.
However, the Gunners are unsure whether or not they want to activate the 27-year-old’s £68million release clause and will assess alternative transfer targets before making a decision.
The England international, who has also been linked with Tottenham, registered 14 goals and 11 assists in 43 appearances in the 2024-25 season.
For more Crystal Palace and exclusive news, follow us on Facebook or join our brand new WhatsApp Channel for instant updates to be sent straight to your phone.
Related Posts