Crystal Palace Europa journey in serious doubt after Uefa rejects owners’ blind trust move following meeting at Nyon.
Crystal Palace Europa League place in doubt after Uefa rejects owners’ blind trust move.
In order to guarantee that the team can compete in Europe the next season, Uefa has turned down bids from Crystal Palace shareholders John Textor and David Blitzer to place their shares in a blind trust.
Given that Textor, the club’s biggest stakeholder, also owns the majority of Lyon, who have also qualified for the second division, Palace’s participation in the Europa League has come under scrutiny. To make matters worse, the European governing body’s multi-club ownership regulations also preclude the FA Cup winners from entering the Conference League, where Blitzer’s Danish team Brøndby has already qualified.
Steve Parish and Textor, among other Palace executives, met with Uefa officials in Nyon on Tuesday in an attempt to mediate a resolution without coming to a consensus. Because the club missed the deadline for registering the trust, Uefa rejected the so-called blind trust option, which would have put Textor’s Palace shares in the hands of trustees for the upcoming season.
Following their partner clubs, Girona and Nice, qualifying for the Champions League and Europa League, respectively, Manchester City and Manchester United both used blind trusts to ensure compliance with Uefa multi-club rules last season. Evangelos Marinakis, the owner of Nottingham Forest, also transferred his shares when Nuno Espírito Santo’s team and his Greek club Olympiakos appeared to be on track to qualify for the Champions League the following season.
However, Palace was informed this week that they will not be granted any flexibility because Uefa regulations stipulate that such ownership changes must occur prior to March 1st in order to take effect in time for the upcoming season. Prior to March, Palace was in the middle of the Premier League and had not advanced past the FA Cup fifth round, thus they had no plans to qualify for Europe.
Palace faces significant resentment at Uefa’s lack of adaptability since they risk paying a high price for their lack of vision.
After qualifying for the Conference League by placing seventh in the Premier League, Forest might be promoted to replace Palace if they are disqualified from the Europa League. Brighton, Palace’s eighth-place finishers, might then take Forest’s position in the Conference League.
Since Uefa regulations stipulate that the team with the greatest domestic championship ranking will be granted admittance into the competition, Palace’s European standing is in jeopardy rather than Lyon’s. Lyon has an advantage over Palace, who finished 12th in the Premier League, thanks to their sixth-place Ligue 1 result.