Crystal Palace’s bid to play in next season’s Europa League has taken another whack, this time from Nottingham Forest.
The Eagles are at serious risk of being booted out of the competition due to UEFA’s multi-club ownership rules.
American businessman John Textor owns a 43 per cent stake in the south London club but also owns Lyon, who secured a spot in next season’s Europa League via a sixth-place finish in Ligue 1.
According to UEFA rules, no individual is permitted to ‘simultaneously be involved in any capacity’ for ‘more than one club participating in a UEFA club competition’.
talkSPORT understands Forest have now written to UEFA to express their concerns regarding Palace playing in the Europa League given they could fall foul of the multi-club ownership rules.
Palace’s top brass met with UEFA officials last week to reach a resolution, but no agreement was forthcoming.
Should Palace be declared non-compliant with the governing body’s multi-club ownership rules, Forest stand to be elevated into the Europa League.
It would also mean Brighton, who finished eighth in the Premier League, would subsequently take Forest’s spot in the Conference League.
Despite the financial and competitive benefits on offer, talkSPORT understands Brighton have not written to UEFA regarding Palace’s situation.
A scenario also exists where Palace play Europa League football untroubled by multi-club ownership rules given Lyon are no certainties to take part in the competition.
The French club was at serious risk of disqualification from European competition by UEFA’s Club Finance Control Body (CFBC) due to financial issues.
Lyon reported debts of more than £421million last year and were even threatened with relegation to Ligue 2 last November.
Textor’s ownership of Palace and Lyon has proved to be a serious issueGettyHowever, Lyon proved their finances were healthy enough as they met the deadline to avoid disqualification.
Yet the club remains under surveillance by the Club Financial Control Body (CFCB) and could still be disqualified from the Europa League should they breach their settlement agreement.
Forest were also at risk of breaking UEFA’s multi-club ownership rules as owner Evangelos Marinakis also controls Greek giants Olympiakos.
But when it looked like both Forest and Olympiakos were on track to qualify for the Champions League, Marinakis diluted his shares before the March 1 deadline.
However, Forest faded away and finished seventh, which ensured qualification for the Conference League.
Palace attempted to follow a similar suit as shareholders Textor and David Blitzer tried to place their shares in the club into a blind trust.
Forest owner Marinakis made an early call to avoid a similar situationBut UEFA rejected the proposal because their rules stipulate any changes at ownership level must take place before March 1 for them to kick in the following season.
Given the south London club sat mid-table and were only in the fifth round of the FA Cup at the deadline, there was little thought given to the prospect of qualifying for European football and the need to set up the blind trust.
But they went on to stun Manchester City in the FA Cup final to secure a ticket to the Europa League.
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