Crystal Palace’s Europa League place has been in doubt since Lyon were expelled from the French top flight on appeal.
Palace are watching to see if UEFA will allow them to compete in European competition like Lyon, as John Textor owns around 43 per cent of the FA Cup winners and is a majority shareholder in the French club.
UEFA rules state that clubs with shared ownership are not allowed to compete in the same competition. Palace believe they are clear to compete after Textor pleaded not guilty in Switzerland last month to charges that he had no influence on the day-to-day running of Selhurst Park.
Lyon have since been relegated from Ligue 1 due to financial problems over their spending on players, and were only revived on Wednesday after an appeal. Textor announced last week that he had resigned from his role as Lyon’s chairman.
A statement from Lyon regarding the relegation said: “We are pleased with the decision taken today by the DNCG (Ligue 1’s disciplinary body) to keep the club in Ligue 1.
“OL is grateful for the recognition of the club’s new management’s determination to ensure a solid future. The new management, supported by the commitments of our shareholders and creditors and the commitment of our depositors, is particularly grateful for the support it has received from its supporters, staff, players, partners and elected officials, both inside and outside the club.
Manchester United and Nice have both finished the season, while Manchester City and Girona have made “significant changes” to ensure that all four sides qualify for the Europa League and Champions League.
This includes the appointment of an independent trustee, supervised by UEFA’s Club Financial Control Body, who will be able to effectively control and make decisions on Nice and Girona.
The directors are also prohibited from making transfers between players and from sharing commercial agreements or scouting databases, while The club’s boards have been forced to resign.
Palace’s case has been complicated by the club’s failure to meet an early deadline to register the club with an independent trust. UEFA has postponed the deadline to submit a formal application to the FA Cup for the first time until March.
The rules state that failure to comply with UEFA’s demands could result in relegation to the Conference League.
However, it is complicated by Brondby, owned by minority owner David Blitzer of the Selhurst Park club, who qualified for the competition through the Danish league and by winning the domestic cup.
In the event that Palace are denied entry, they will find themselves in the Conference League as their bitter rivals Brighton, who have already won nine Premier League games, are also promoted to the Europa League with Nottingham Forest.
