According to reports, Nottingham Forest, a Premier League team, has submitted a letter to UEFA over the ongoing dispute over Crystal Palace’s eligibility to play in the Europa League next season.
The Times claims that Palace’s standing in the tournament could be jeopardized due to worries that the team might be breaking the regulations regarding multi-club ownership.
Oliver Glasner’s team defeated Manchester City 1-0 at Wembley last month to win the FA Cup and guarantee their place in the Europa League.
However, John Textor, the club’s largest stakeholder, controls the majority of Ligue 1 team Lyon, which has also qualified for the same competition, through Eagle Football Holdings.
According to reports, Palace contended in a UEFA summit last week that American businessman Textor had no influence over club decisions because he only has 25% of the vote.
According to BBC Sport, that point is crucial because the percentage falls short of the 30% level that UEFA considers to be “decisive influence” over a club.
Palace is also alleged to have clarified that the two teams “do not share any staff, facilities, or information” and are not a part of the same ownership group.
Additionally, since Eagle acquired Lyon in 2021, there has only been one transfer between the two teams.
Given that Nuno Espirito Santo’s team qualified for the Conference League for the upcoming season, Forest would be placed in the Europa League if it were determined that Palace had not complied with UEFA regulations.
According to the Times, Forest has expressed their “concerns” over Palace’s involvement in the Europa League in a letter to UEFA.
When it became apparent that Forest and Olympiakos may both qualify for the same European competition, their majority owner, Evangelos Marinakis, took action to split the ownership structures of the two clubs.
As it happened, the Greek team won the Greek Super League for the 48th time, earning them automatic qualification to the league phase of the Champions League next season.
A ‘promotion’ to the Europa League, however, would still have an effect on Forest’s summer business because it might change the kind of players the team is able to draw in.
Brighton, who placed eighth, are in a similar situation since, should Palace be disqualified from Europe, they may be able to play in the Conference League the following season.
“Insiders” claim that under some circumstances, the matter might even reach the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), where Forest and Brighton might be able to dispute any decision.
In such case, both Lyon and Palace would be permitted to play, with UEFA keeping an eye on the French team on a different issue.
Following the release of Lyon’s annual financial statement in December 2024, the Club Financial Control Body (CFCB) of UEFA excluded the team from European competition for 2025–2026.
After Lyon provided financial statements with a “clean audit opinion from its auditors… in respect of going concern,” they subsequently lifted the prohibition.
The French team owes more than €500 million, and in November they were even temporarily demoted to Ligue 2 unless they fulfilled stringent financial requirements that are not made public.
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