Good News for Ghana’s Ernest Nuamah as Lyon Win Appeal and Retain Ligue 1 Status

Olympique Lyonnais have successfully overturned their relegation from Ligue 1, a development that now threatens Crystal Palace’s participation in next season’s UEFA Europa League due to multi-club ownership regulations.

Lyon’s appeal was upheld following a hearing into financial irregularities, allowing the French giants to retain their top-flight status and, crucially, their Europa League place.

However, this outcome has significant implications for FA Cup winners Crystal Palace, who also qualified for the Europa League. UEFA rules on multi-club ownership prohibit two clubs with shared ownership from competing in the same European competition.

At the heart of the issue is John Textor, who holds a majority stake in Lyon and until recently owned a 43% share in Crystal Palace. Despite Textor agreeing to sell his stake in the Premier League side to New York Jets owner Woody Johnson in a deal reportedly worth £190 million, the sale was not finalised before UEFA’s March deadline for compliance with ownership regulations.

Palace maintain that Textor has no decisive influence at Selhurst Park, further noting that he resigned from Lyon’s board last month. However, UEFA’s regulations are strict, and Palace’s failure to complete the ownership transition before the deadline may prove costly.

Legal Challenge Expected

Crystal Palace are now awaiting a UEFA ruling, with growing concern that they could be excluded from the Europa League. The club is expected to challenge any ban legally, should UEFA enforce its multi-club ownership rule.

In a statement, Lyon said:

“Olympique Lyonnais completed the financial sustainability procedure and signed an agreement with the UEFA Club Financial Control Body. The club could therefore participate in next season’s Europa League, subject to a favourable outcome of the appeal of the DNCG decision.”

“OL would like to thank the UEFA representatives who assisted it in this process.”

 What Next?

Should UEFA uphold its ownership rules, the governing body may be forced to choose between allowing Lyon or Palace to participate in the Europa League. With Lyon having now secured their Ligue 1 status and cleared financial checks, Palace could be the club to miss out—despite securing qualification through domestic success.

A final decision from UEFA is expected in the coming weeks.