Oliver Glasner John Textor Crystal Palace
(Credit: Getty Images)
Stefan Borson
Fri 11 July 2025 9:24, UK
John Textor knew Crystal Palace were facing an issue with Uefa immediately after their FA Cup final victory.
Palace beat Man City 1-0 at Wembley in May to get their hands on their first-ever major trophy and secure their place in the Europa League.
Textor’s ownership of Lyon has presented a stumbling block after they 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.
The governing body postponed a decision on whether to allow Palace to play in the second-tier European competition until after Lyon’s domestic appeal against their relegation to Ligue 2.
It was confirmed on Wednesday (9 July) the French side have been successful in their appeal and will remain in Ligue 1 next season.
That means Lyon are now expected to play in the Europa League, leaving Palace’s hopes of featuring in the competition hanging by a thread.
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Finance expert Stefan Borson exclusively told Football Insider it looks like Oliver Glasner’s side will not play in the Europa League.
In an interview with talkSPORT on Thursday (10 July), Textor said: “I was so happy when they lifted the FA Cup. But I felt the gravity while they were holding the cup, I couldn’t have been happier or happier for the fans.
“But I was worried about what was coming there and then. I felt bad, but it doesn’t mean I had decisive influence. The rules say they should be in.”
It is understood Uefa could rule on Palace’s place in the Europa League on Friday (11 July).
John Textor, Crystal Palace
John Textor’s ownership of Lyon has createn an issue for Crystal Palace (Credit: Imago)
John Textor in the dark over Crystal Palace verdict
Borson insisted it’s difficult to predict whether Palace will remain in the competition if Textor himself is still in the dark.
He told Football Insider: “It’s very hard on that situation to conclude very much, especially when you listen to John Textor.
“There was a 90-minute interview with John Textor yesterday on the radio. Even he has limited insight into where Uefa is in this process. If John Textor doesn’t know, the chance that we can, from the outside, gauge exactly how it’s going to play out is obviously very slim.
“But what I would say is that it does appear that for all of his protestations, Uefa do believe that he has a level of decisive influence. Once you get to that point, it does look like Crystal Palace will not play in the Europa League unless they can take it to CAS and win.
“If there was no issue at all and if there had been no issue at all since let’s say 1 March, then in that scenario why would Uefa even still be considering it? That’s the bit that I can’t get myself comfortable with on their behalf.
“Then on top of that, if you were to again listen to what John Textor said, he was asked the question today, what was your reaction when you won the FA Cup against Manchester City? His first words were ‘Christ, we’ve won it. And now what?’.
“So, he obviously knew there was an issue and he also admitted that they hadn’t dealt with it, hadn’t thought it was an issue and hadn’t considered that it was an issue earlier on in March.
“He also made some comment that suggested that the way it was sprung on the clubs was wrong and that it had only been disclosed to the clubs very late in the day, but that doesn’t work.
“We know from the Drogheda case, CAS was clearly of the view that the clubs either were informed by Uefa or should have known about the rule on 1 March, so that isn’t an argument that’s going to win either.”
Club Stake (%)
Crystal Palace (England) 43
Botafogo (Brazil) 90
Olympique Lyonnais (France) 77.49
RWD Molenbeek (Belgium) 80
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Crystal Palace ready to submit instant appeal
Football Insider revealed on 9 July Palace are ready to submit an instant appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) if the Uefa decision goes against them.
The international body, which is based in Lausanne, Switzerland, settles sports-related disputes through arbitration and mediation.
It’s currently unclear whether CAS would overturn any decision against Palace after Drogheda United’s appeal against their dismissal from the Conference League was rejected last month.
The Irish Premier Division club and Danish side Silkeborg make up part of the Trivela Group’s multi-club model, with both sides qualifying for the third-tier European competition.
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