Crystal Palace: Uefa decision to demote club ‘biggest injustice in the history of football’ says Steve Parish

Palace were huge underdogs to win the FA Cup, beating Manchester City 1-0, and their joy at qualifying for Europe for a first time quickly turned to unease when the club realised their spot may be in doubt.

Uefa’s regulations around multi-club ownership and European competitions are in place to prevent collusion.

In the governing body’s rulebook, a club is required to prove they are not “simultaneously involved in any capacity whatsoever in the management, administration, and/or sporting performance of more than one club participating in a Uefa club competition”.

Textor’s Eagle Football owns a 43% stake in Palace and a 77% stake in Lyon, but the Premier League side argued they are an entity that operates entirely independently.

Forest asked for clarity from Uefa in June on Palace’s position in Europe. Their owner Evangelos Marinakis, who controls Greek side Olympiakos, avoided regulations around multi-club ownership by diluting his control of the Premier League side.

Textor took similar steps to help Palace’s prospects by agreeing to sell his 43% stake to New York Jets owner Woody Johnson in June, but the deal has yet to be completed.

Textor also later resigned from his leadership position at Lyon.

Uefa delayed their decision on Palace’s ruling until the outcome of Lyon’s domestic case, while Parish’s side indicated they would almost certainly launch a legal fight if their Europa League place was revoked.