FA Cup winners Crystal Palace face anxious wait to discover Europa League fate

Palace held a meeting with UEFA officials last Tuesday to plead their case to be allowed to play in Europe for the first time.
Oliver Glasner's team clinched a Europa League spot after they stunned Manchester City to win the FA Cup at Wembley last month – the first major trophy in the club's history.
😏 pic.twitter.com/3VMyZVmBU5
— Crystal Palace F.C. (@CPFC) May 19, 2025
However, talk of a European adventure has proved slightly premature, with Palace required to meet with UEFA's club financial control body (CFCB) to show they do not fall foul of its multi-club ownership rules.
John Textor holds a 43 per cent stake in Palace through his company Eagle Football, while he is also the owner of French club Lyon, who qualified for the Europa League with a sixth-placed Ligue 1 finish.
After Tuesday's meeting, the CFCB is not expected to make a decision until the end of June, PA understands.
No individual is allowed to have a significant say in the running of two clubs competing in the same UEFA competition and the CFCB would have to make a ruling on any potential breach.
PA understands Palace are confident no rules have been breached owing to the fact Textor – through Eagle Football – has only a 25 per cent share of voting rights alongside fellow principal owners Josh Harris, David Blitzer and chairman Steve Parish.
Parish is also responsible for the day-to-day running of the club, which has led to past tension with Textor, who had previously tried to sell his shares and take over Everton.
A post shared by UEFA Europa League (@europaleague)
Given Palace believe they have no influence over Lyon and Eagle Football does not have decision-making powers at the Premier League outfit because of the voting structure, the club are hopeful of being able to compete in Europe.
If Palace fail to convince the CFCB, Lyon would keep their Europa League spot due to a higher league finish.
Meanwhile, Brondby, who Blitzer owns, qualified for the Europa Conference League, which prevents the south London club from dropping into that competition.
Palace announced their retained list on Monday, with long-serving duo Joel Ward and Jeffrey Schlupp set to officially leave on June 30.
Their departures had been announced last month. A number of academy players are also due to depart, including Eberechi Eze's younger brother Chimaechi Eze.

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Learn with AIFact CheckingText to SpeechAI Summary

Related Articles

North Wales Chronicle

25 minutes ago

• North Wales Chronicle

Moreira narrowly fails to weave Ascot magic for Japan

The Brazilian pilot, known as the 'Magic Man', has ridden big winners around the globe and was entrusted with providing Japan with a first victory at the Royal meeting when receiving the leg-up aboard Noriyuki Hori's ace sprinter – who was sent off the 2-1 favourite for the final Group One of the week. Having been subject to persistent money since advertising his wellbeing in a recent Newmarket gallop, the six-year-old travelled through the contest in sublime style for Moreira. However, he met a determined rival in Lazzat in the closing stages and when the duo began to duel late into the piece, it was Jerome Reynier's French raider who came out on top in the international showdown for sprinting supremacy. 'We went into the race with a lot of confidence, the horse was so well in himself but unfortunately we bumped into a very good horse today,' said Moreira. 'Lazzat's form indicated he would be a danger and he had been winning impressively on his home ground. 'Halfway through I thought I had him done, but he just had another kick and kept attacking the line. I was closing up the gap but we just bumped into a good horse today and my horse ran really well. 'We thought we had a really good crack and unfortunately we just bumped into a really good horse. I can't complain, he tried his very best. 'It's a pleasure to be at a festival like this – of course finishing second is not the best result, but I still have to be happy with that.' While the Wathnan Racing team were able to celebrate feature race success for the headline signing from their pre-Ascot delve into the transfer market, they were also delighted with the performance of fellow new signing Flora Of Bermuda. Andrew Balding's admirable filly was narrowly denied by Inisherin at York on her return to action and in her first outing in the peacock blue and old gold silks, she again hit the frame with a brave third in the hands of PJ McDonald. 'She's run an absolute blinder and she was just a little bit free early,' said Wathnan's Richard Brown. 'She's run another very solid race, she's so consistent. I'd be hopeful that one of these might drop her way and she had some very good horses behind her. 'These two (Lazzat and Satono Reve) have obviously gone a long way clear, but she's finished best of the rest.'

The Guardian

33 minutes ago

• The Guardian

Cult of celebrity feels like a fundamental tension at the heart of the game

It is in the details that the truest picture emerges. Quite aside from the endless politicking, the forever-war with Uefa, the consorting with autocrats and the intriguing broadcast rights and partnership deals, there has been, not a new, but growing sense during the Club World Cup that Fifa doesn't really get football. There is something cargo-cultish about it, creating outcomes without engaging in processes. Perhaps that is inevitable with Gianni Infantino's style of leadership; like all populists, he is big on vision and short on practical reality. It was there in the expansion of the World Cup to 48 teams. OK: how will the tournament be organised? Sixteen groups of three. Won't that mean either lots of potential dead rubbers (one team from each group goes through) or opportunities for collusion (two go through)? Oh, actually, the four-team groups at the 2022 have worked so well, we'll go with 12 groups of four. Sure, but then you have eight best third-place teams going through which: a) diminishes jeopardy; and b) undermines sporting integrity by giving an advantage to teams in later groups because they have a clearer idea of what is needed to progress, again offering opportunities for collusion. No response, because all that matters is a bigger tournament equals more votes for the president and (in the short term) more revenue. One of the oddest aspects of the Club World Cup has been the way players are greeted on to the pitch individually, like swimmers before an Olympic final. At Ulsan HD v Mamelodi Sundowns, they may as well have gone on and introduced the crowd as well. Who needs this? Who wants this? Why does the first player out have to hang around for several minutes waiting for the 22nd player? For well over a century the two teams have walked out side by side. This has always been part of the gladiatorial ritual of football. This is the contest: one team against another. But as Fifa has sought desperately to improve attendances and stimulate interest, its focus has become more and more on the individual. That is why there was all that talk, much of it emanating from Infantino, about Cristiano Ronaldo potentially securing a short-term deal with a qualifier, and why qualifying was gerrymandered to ensure the presence of Lionel Messi's Inter Miami. But there is a potentially self-defeating short-termism to this. While the desire to see Messi is entirely understandable, especially as he enters the late autumn of his career, Inter Miami are sixth in MLS's Western Conference, their form having disintegrated since the end of March. From an MLS point of view, the ideal scenario would have been for one of their sides to beat a storied opponent, perhaps push on to the quarter-finals, generating interest in North America's domestic league. The best way of doing that would have been to have the best-possible MLS representation, but Inter Miami are in no sense one of the best three sides. As it is, none of the MLS sides won their opening game, although Porto's dismal form and Messi's dead-ball ability may get Inter Miami through anyway. It might also be pointed out that Auckland City are not the best side in New Zealand, nor are Red Bull Salzburg one of the best 12 sides in Europe, but the consequences are greater for the host nation, particularly when there is apparently so much potential for growth. The celebritisation of football is not new, but it is intensifying. When Paul Pogba returned to Manchester United in 2016 and, rather than speaking of the Premier League or becoming a European champion, said he dreamed of winning the Ballon d'Or, it felt shocking, a player elevating his own interests and a silly bauble above the glory of team success. But that has become normal. Improving his Ballon d'Or chances is one of the reasons Neymar left Barcelona for Paris Saint-Germain; even Trent Alexander-Arnold mentioned the Ballon d'Or as a motivation for joining Real Madrid (good luck with that from right-back). Sign up to Football Daily Kick off your evenings with the Guardian's take on the world of football after newsletter promotion The marketing of football is almost all focused on individuals. That's been particularly so at the Club World Cup, but it is true of almost every competition. Even the way lineups are introduced on Sky's Premier League coverage, with the players performing a fake celebration, seems designed to introduce them as characters. Yet there is a tension there. While individual players are celebrated, the increasing use of data means image and self-projection may never have mattered less. The stats will find the talent, even if the talent has no gift for self-promotion. At the same time, the best teams have never been so cohesive, so integrated. PSG provide a useful case study. For years they signed stars with seemingly little thought to how they might play together. Although their immense resources won them the French league, they habitually choked in Europe. Then there was a change of approach, the money was spent not on Neymar and Messi but on players on the way up who still had a hunger for success and who could play together. The result was the Champions League and, despite their defeat by Botafogo, possibly the inaugural world title in the expanded format. If it was conceived as a two-stage strategy – build the brand through celebrity, then win the actual competitions – it has worked to perfection; in reality, it's probably trial and error that has brought them to this point. At Real Madrid, meanwhile, Florentino Pérez still seems locked in his galáctico vision of football, insisting on adding Kylian Mbappé to a squad that already contained Vinícius Júnior and Rodrygo, resulting in imbalance and an expensive downturn in form. This goes deeper than transfer policies, though. This feels like a fundamental tension at the heart of the game. What, after all, is success in modern football? Manchester City for the past decade have been a much better football team than PSG, and yet they have nothing like the brand awareness. Is success winning trophies, or making money? Is it winning trophies or becoming more famous? Is it winning trophies or marketing the individual? The individual walk-ons only blur the lines further, suggest organisers who struggle with the concept that football, perhaps more than any other sport, is a game of the team.

Daily Record

40 minutes ago

• Daily Record

Nicolas Kuhn watches dithering RB Leipzig go tame as transfer truth comes to boil over Celtic star

The former Germany youth international is in demand this summer RB Leipzig's pursuit of Celtic star Nicolas Kuhn is set to be turned down a notch - according to a report. Despite dropping off in the second half of last season, the German winger finished the campaign with an impressive 21 goals and 15 assists in 51 matches in all competitions. ‌ Last week, it was reported that the former Bayern Munich kid is a summer target for Bundesliga side Leipzig, who missed out on European football altogether next season with a disappointing seventh place finish in Germany's top tier. ‌ Kuhn has also been touted for a big money switch to Newcastle but Hoops hero and Record Sport columnist Chris Sutton has warned that the wide man is not ready for the step-up and needs another year until his belt at Parkhead first. However, a move from Leipzig for Kuhn - or any player for that matter - will reportedly be on hold until a decision on just who will be in the dugout at the Red Bull Arena next season is made. Die Roten Bullen have been without a permanent boss since March 30 when Marco Rose got the boot after a very underwhelming showing on home soil and in Europe. Former Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain number two Zsolt Low was appointed as interim manager for the remainder of the campaign but is not expected to be in contention to land the job on a permanent basis. And while Ole Werner - who stepped down from Werder Bremen last month after leading them to a eight place finish in the Bundesliga - is the favourite to replace Low, German outlet Merkur state that getting the managerial situation sorted will take preference over improving the squad. Leipzig have already snapped up the signing of talented Dutch youngster OH Leuven ahead of the new season but that deal was completed back in April. ‌ The report also states that a potential swoop for Valencia's Spain U21 star Cristhian Mosquera has also cooled until a new man in the hot seat is in place. They claim that Mosquera has gone as far as giving Leizpig a verbal agreement that he wants to move to Germany but won't officially put pen to paper until he knows just who he will be playing under. ‌ You can get all the news you need on our dedicated Rangers and Celtic pages, and sign up to our newsletters to make sure you never miss a beat throughout the season. We're also WhatsApp where we bring all the latest breaking news and transfer gossip directly to you phone. Join our Rangers community here and our Celtic community here.