The investor John Textor sold his shares in the Premier League club Crystal Palace-this could clear the way to the Europa League.
As the club confirmed, the shares that previously heard of the “Eagle Football Holdings” controlled by the American investor John Textor will be sold to the American investor Robert Wood Johnson. Johnson is a co-owner of the NFL team New York Jets. It is about 45 percent of the shares. The sale only has to be approved by the Premier League and the Women’s Super League.
With the sale, the opportunities for Palace are increasing in the Europa League of the UEFA. The club is qualified as the winner of the FA Cup. However, this also applies to Olympique Lyon from France, where the previous Palace investor Textor is a majority owner with the “Eagle Football Holdings”.
John Textor, previous co -owner of Crystal Palace
However, the rules of UEFA state: If a natural or a legal person overrules the decisive control over more than one club in competition, these clubs must not start in the same competition. This fate threatened Crystal Palace – which could now be averted.
“Multi-Club Ownership”
“Multi-Club Ownership” is the possession or participation of an owner in several clubs. The possible advantages for the owners and risks for competition go far beyond suspicion of agreed games. Transfer within a network of clubs of multiple participation could be made at prices that meet the needs of investors – and not the actual market values. The time can also be selected. In this way, taxes can be avoided or financial fair play rules can be observed at least on paper. Clubs can be degraded into farm teams that serve the tip of their pyramid. The identity of your clubs can be lost for fans.
The problem: The club missed the decisive deadline
In the past two seasons, the UEFA allowed clubs several times in the same competitions that have or had the same owners. Recently, the specifications were either a fundamental change in the situation or parking of shares on trust accounts in order not to be able to determine several clubs at the same time.
In the transfer of the shares to trust accounts, the UEFA changed the deadline: this must take place on March 1st a season and not as before on June 3. Crystal Palace did nothing on March 1st. When the deadline went, Palace was in the table of the Premier League in the table, the cup victory seemed far away. When the club qualified, the deadline had long since passed. For this reason, the Irish club Drogheda United had to accept the exclusion from the Conference League.
A final decision by the financial control chamber as to whether Palace can take part in the Europa League is still expected in June.
Does Nottingham Forest object?
If the UEFA Crystal Palace allowed in the Europa League, there may be another problem: According to the English media, Nottingham Forest is considering an objection because Forest would have moved into the Europa League after the deadline missed by Palace from the Conference League.
Evangelos Marinakis, owner of Nottingham Forest and Olympiacos Piraeus, has been arrested in his home country of Greece
Forest had provided on time and adapted his ownerships around the Greek Evangelos Marinakis. He therefore no longer had a crucial control over Nottingham. In the meantime, there was the possibility that two clubs for the Champions League, which are under the control of Marinakis, qualify with Forest and Olympiakos Piraeus.