Nottingham Forest have reached out to UEFA, seeking clarification over Crystal Palace’s eligibility for the Europa League, raising concerns that the South London club may be in breach of multi-club ownership regulations.
Crystal Palace made history by securing their first-ever European qualification after winning the FA Cup with a narrow 1-0 triumph over Manchester City.
However, UEFA is now tasked with determining whether their participation is compromised due to potential conflicts related to shared ownership.
At the heart of the investigation is American businessman John Textor, who owns Eagle Football, the entity that holds a 43% share in Crystal Palace.
Eagle Football is also the majority stakeholder in French side Lyon, with a 77% ownership. Both clubs are set to compete in next season’s Europa League.
UEFA regulations prohibit “no individual or legal entity” from possessing majority voting rights in more than one club participating in the same European competition.
Should UEFA find a breach, Lyon, who finished sixth in Ligue 1, would be given precedence over Palace, who ended the Premier League season in 12th.
This could pave the way for Nottingham Forest, who finished seventh and are currently in line for a Europa Conference League play-off spot, to be bumped up to the Europa League should Palace be ruled ineligible.
BBC Sports sources confirmed that Forest have already communicated their concerns to UEFA.
The rules are designed to prevent any possibility of collusion between clubs. In defense, Palace maintain that their FA Cup success and resulting qualification were earned “entirely on their own merit.”
They stress that the club is run independently and not as part of a multi-club structure. Palace also argue that there has been no overlap in staffing, coaching, or operational activities with Lyon, no shared employees, strategies, partnerships, or scouting collaborations.
Meanwhile, Forest appear to have preemptively navigated the regulatory landscape.
Their owner, Evangelos Marinakis, who also owns Olympiakos and Portuguese club Rio Ave, reduced his stake in Forest to comply with UEFA’s rules.
At one point, both Forest and Olympiakos were on course to reach the Champions League, which would have triggered similar scrutiny.
UEFA revised its deadline for clubs to declare potential ownership conflicts from 1 June to 1 March, as the volume of checks became increasingly difficult to manage. By this date, Forest had addressed their ownership situation, while Palace had yet to act, despite the FA Cup route to Europe being within sight.
The opening stages of both the Europa League and Conference League begin in July, meaning a ruling from UEFA is expected soon.
