Crystal Palace’s victory in the FA Cup final against Manchester City was undoubtedly one of the most magical moments of the season. Fans everywhere celebrated the “cupset” after the brilliant Eberechi Eze scored the only goal of the game, securing the first major trophy in the history of the South London club.

This also gained them a place in the Europa League, which was the first time that Palace had ever qualified for a UEFA competition.

Chairman Steve Parish was understandably jubilant, “Europa League group games, travelling all over Europe, Palace on tour. This is stuff the fans have been dreaming about for too long,”

Multi-Club Ownership Issues

However, there is a potential fly in the ointment in the shape of UEFA’s multi-club ownership (MCO) regulations, which state that no individual is permitted to control two clubs that are competing in the same UEFA competition.

This is a problem, as John Textor is Palace’s largest shareholder with a 43% stake, while the American businessman also owns 88% of French club, Olympique Lyonnais, who qualified for next season’s Europa League after PSG completed the French double.

Textor owns his Palace stake via his multi-club ownership group, Eagle Football Holdings, which has a portfolio of football clubs, partly funded by Ares Management Corporation, Iconic Sports and Elmwood Partners.

None of the clubs are fully owned, but Eagle Football are also majority shareholders in Brazilian club Botafogo 90% and Belgian club RWD Molenbeek 80%, as well as Palace and Lyon.

The decision on whether Palace will be allowed to play in the Europa League will be taken by UEFA’s Club Financial Control Body (CFCB), which will assess the relationship between Palace and Olympique Lyonnais.

Parish and Textor have already attended an initial meeting with the CFCB in Nyon (Switzerland) to state their case, though it will be a while before a decision is reached.

That has understandably taken the gloss of Palace’s stunning FA Cup triumph, so let’s look at the MCO challenges that they face.