UEFA confirmed on Friday that Crystal Palace had been expelled from the Europa League for violating the rules governing multi-club ownership. The Eagles were eliminated from the competition because investor John Textor was also on the board of Lyon, a French team who kept their Europa League spot when their Ligue 1 relegation was overturned. The Eagles had qualified for the tournament by winning the 2024–25 FA Cup.
Many have questioned why the decision was rendered against Palace considering Manchester City and Girona, both of which are members of the City Football Group, were permitted to participate in the Champions League the previous season. Palace is anticipated to appeal the decision to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
But now that the two cases have been separated, it is clear why Palace’s team was denied their chance to go on their dream European run while the Spanish team was given the opportunity.
Why Girona and Man City Were Both Allowed in the Champions League
There are some key differences between the two cases
Istanbul Basaksehir, Club Bolivar, Bahia, Palermo, Troyes, Lommel SK, Mumbai City, Sichuan Jiuniu, Montevideo City Torque, Yokohama F Marinos, Melbourne City, New York City FC, and Manchester City are among the clubs that are a part of the City Football Group, of which Girona is one.
After a fantastic domestic 2023–24 season in which they made an early run for the Spanish top flight title before finishing in third place, the La Liga team stunned everyone by earning a spot in the Champions League campaign last season.
The ownership structure of City Football Group needs to be altered in order for Girona to join Manchester City in European competitions. According to UEFA rules, they had to either sell shares to an unaffiliated third party to reduce their ownership of Girona to less than 30% or transfer their shareholding to a blind trust run by a panel of independent UEFA-approved managers.
The latter was chosen by City Football Group, which declared that, as of July 1, 2024, until June 30, 2025, their shares in Girona FC were transferred into an independent blind trust. Although this action puts them in line with UEFA regulations for the current campaign, the issue will need to be resolved again if both teams make it to Europe the following year.
The Premier League team would probably have been permitted to play in the Europa League this coming season if Textor had taken a similar action with his Palace or Lyon bets, but the deadline to do so and adhere to UEFA’s rules was March 1.
Although Textor himself stated he was aware of the potential issue as soon as the Eagles defeated Manchester City in the FA Cup, Palace did not find out they qualified for the Europa League until May 17.
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