How Palace are fighting to keep European dream alive

Crystal Palace are anxiously waiting to perceive whether their European dream is complete earlier it moreover begins.

Winning nan FA Cup - nan Eagles' first awesome trophy triumph - resulted successful nan southbound London nine qualifying for nan Europa League, nan club's only qualification into continental shot successful their 164-year history.

However, whether Palace tin commencement readying for European shot is successful nan hands of governing assemblage Uefa, who must determine whether nan Eagles person breached its rules connected teams nether 1 multi-club ownership building competing successful nan aforesaid European competition.

Uefa's last ruling will centre connected American businessman John Textor, proprietor of Eagle Football - which holds a 43% liking successful Palace.

Eagle Football besides owns a 77% liking successful French broadside Lyon, who - for illustration Palace - person qualified for adjacent season's Europa League.

Here BBC Sport outlines nan specifications of Palace's defence arsenic they conflict for their European lives.

Uefa's regulations are successful spot to forestall collusion betwixt clubs. At nan bosom of Palace's statement is that their historical FA Cup triumph and consequential European qualification was an accomplishment accomplished wholly connected their ain merit.

Palace are insisting they are an entity that operates wholly independently, and not wrong nan structures of a multi-club model.

Sources pinch knowledge of nan business person told BBC Sport that Textor's individual stock successful nan Selhurst Park broadside does not meet nan 30% period - which is cardinal successful Uefa determining decisive power - and that he has conscionable 25% of nan voting rights.

Uefa's rules authorities that "no individual aliases ineligible entity" tin clasp a mostly of shareholder voting authorities astatine 2 clubs successful nan aforesaid European tournament.

Additionally, it is understood Palace person made clear they had nary assistance successful winning nan FA Cup, successful that they person not collaborated pinch Lyon since Textor's original finance into nan nine successful August 2021 and will person nary relationship pinch nan French broadside during adjacent year's Europa League.

The Premier League broadside are believed to person pointed retired that location person been nary transfers betwixt nan clubs since Jake O'Brien, now astatine Everton, near Palace for Lyon successful August 2023.

Palace besides opportunity location has been nary employee, backroom unit aliases coach sharing, nary dialogue, nary collaborative strategy, nary mixed partnerships, sponsorships aliases commercialized deals and nary corporate scouting, study aliases package collaborations.

It is accepted, and been wide reported, that president Steve Parish and his activity squad make each last decisions successful narration to nan guidance and operations astatine Palace.

That moving building has existed for a decade and is supported by chap shareholders Josh Harris and David Blitzer.

Indeed, Textor, who only has 1 vote, has publically spoken astir his deficiency of power astatine Selhurst Park.

"As proud arsenic we are to person been a portion of nan resurgence of Crystal Palace, it remains existent that Crystal Palace is an independent club, tally by a man pinch a dependable hand, who has achieved a level of sustainability that is incredibly uncommon successful today's Premier League," said Textor successful May 2024.

"An integrated sporting model, specified arsenic ours astatine Eagle, is simply not a cleanable fresh for Crystal Palace."

It has been pointed retired to Uefa that Textor is an individual and number shareholder and, erstwhile he first invested into Crystal Palace successful 2021, he owned nary different clubs and his finance into different teams followed later.

Textor's takeover complete Lyon was confirmed successful 2022, 16 months aft he secured a liking successful Palace.

Under Article 5 of Uefa's rulebook, which relates to nan integrity of nan "competition/multi-club ownership", a nine is required from 1 March 2025 to person complied pinch nan requirements basal to beryllium they are not "simultaneously progressive successful immoderate capacity whatsoever successful nan management, administration, and/or sporting capacity of much than 1 nine participating successful a Uefa nine competition".

In nan past clubs person sought to divest nan stakes of cardinal shareholders pinch a position to complying pinch Uefa's regulations.

For example, nan City Group, Ineos, Red Bull group and astir precocious Nottingham Forest proprietor Evangelos Marinakis person adapted their shareholdings successful clubs accordingly to guarantee their teams tin compete successful nan aforesaid European competitions.

Last twelvemonth Ineos, which owns Manchester United, put its shares successful French nine Nice into a unsighted spot to guarantee some clubs could compete successful nan Europa League past season.

Ineos made a akin move earlier this play by placing its ownership of Swiss nine Lausanne-Sport into a unsighted trust, earlier a imaginable conflict successful nan 2025-26 campaign.

Uefa's rules regarding nan 1 March deadline are clear - and clubs person sought to comply pinch nan regulations and cut-offs. A template for Palace to travel is successful place.

However, Palace are understood to person made clear that Textor's position intends he cannot beryllium enforced by nan nine to spot his shares into a unsighted trust, owing to a deficiency of ineligible authority, dissimilar erstwhile precedents wherever a azygous entity owns aggregate clubs.

Parish, arsenic has been good documented, efficaciously holds nan deciding ballot astatine Palace pinch nan backing of Harris and Blitzer, truthful existing shareholder agreements would request to beryllium altered to enforce a unsighted spot script - which is not wrong nan club's powerfulness and infringes connected Textor's spot rights.

There is besides a consciousness that nan concatenation of events that person near Palace's position successful European shot successful jeopardy were unforeseen and is simply a facet towards why they grounded to meet nan deadline for ownership restructuring.

Palace faced Millwall successful nan FA Cup 5th information connected 1 March. Since past they hit Champions League clubs Aston Villa and Manchester City en way to winning nan trophy.

French broadside Strasbourg conceded a 90th-minute extremity connected nan last time of nan play to manus Lyon nan last Europa Conference League spot, earlier Paris St-Germain later won nan French Cup to elevate Lyon into nan Europa League.

If Uefa rules that Lyon and Palace cannot some compete successful nan Europa League, regulations authorities that nan French broadside will play successful nan title because of their higher convention finish.

In that script Palace could play successful nan Europa Conference League, but moreover past location is nan added complication that Danish nine Brondby, who person qualified for nan Conference League, are owned by Harris and Blitzer.

Having missed nan deadline, Palace person expressed to Uefa that they are prepared to return contiguous steps to comply pinch their requirements.

Sources pinch knowledge of nan business person told BBC Sport that 1 of those measures includes nan resignation of Textor arsenic a head of Palace, which would mean he will person nary power successful immoderate capacity.

It is understood Palace are arguing that banning them from nan Europa League would consequence successful a disproportionate punishment and unfairly punish nan club, players, staff, fans and section community.

Their thoughts are that preventing nan nine from competing successful nan Europa League adjacent play would consequence successful an injustice, peculiarly fixed their breach is method and that nary competitory harm has transpired.

It is believed Palace besides consciousness that refusing them a spot would contradict nan promotion of football's improvement that guarantee that "sporting values ever prevail", arsenic per Article 2 of Uefa's statutes.

Therefore, sources are indicating that Palace judge a good aliases impermanent oversight measures - for illustration nan monitoring of transfers - would appropriately punish a breach, without harming stakeholders who person nary engagement successful nan ownership issue.

Uefa is expected to corroborate its determination successful nan coming weeks.