00:00Now for Crystal Palace.
00:04It's been something of an emotional rollercoaster
00:07since, of course, their fairytale ending to last season,
00:10winning the FA Cup at Wembley,
00:12their first ever major trophy in football,
00:14defeating Manchester City of all teams
00:16by a goal to nil at Wembley,
00:17and ultimately, therefore, qualifying for the Europa League,
00:21the first time that they would play in Europe in the club's history.
00:24And yet, since then, there's been so many issues
00:27regarding whether the club can actually play in the Europa League
00:30because, of course, one of their shareholders at the club
00:33owns part of another club in Europe,
00:35and that contradicts UEFA rules
00:38when it comes to two clubs playing in the same competition
00:40because, of course, Lyon qualified also for the Europa League last season,
00:45finishing sixth in Ligue 1 in France.
00:48However, Lyon have just been relegated
00:51because of financial difficulties to Ligue 2 in France,
00:56and so, where does this leave Crystal Palace?
00:59It's very hard to tell at the moment.
01:01Of course, before this happened,
01:02they were in discussions with UEFA
01:04and trying to get themselves sorted in terms of playing in the Europa League,
01:09and now the shareholder who did own part of Palace
01:12and Lyon has now sold up
01:14or is trying to sell up at least his shares in Palace.
01:18That's pending Premier League approval at the moment,
01:20but now with Lyon having gone down in France
01:23because of financial difficulties and irregularities,
01:26does that make things easier for Palace?
01:27Well, that remains to be seen.
01:29So, let's go now to our London sport correspondent, Charles Higg-Jones.
01:32Charles, what is the latest on this situation?
01:36Have Palace managed to get themselves into the Europa League
01:39or are things at least looking good because of Lyon's relegation
01:42and the fact that also their shareholder has managed to,
01:46or seems to be on the brink at least,
01:47of selling up his shares in the club.
01:50It seems a complicated situation,
01:51but what is the current plan at the moment?
01:57Yes, it's obviously a bit of a sticky situation now.
02:00Obviously, Crystal Palace,
02:02an incredible FA Cup triumph,
02:04beating Manchester City in the final,
02:06beating Aston Villa before that
02:08and having an amazing run.
02:09The likes of Eberucci has an unbelievable
02:11across that FA Cup campaign
02:13and in their first major tournament win in their history.
02:17So, an incredible season,
02:19but it could all sort of come falling down
02:22due to John Texter's ownership in Lyon,
02:25who have also qualified for the Europa League,
02:30which violates UEFA's rules.
02:31Basically, he has stake overlaps,
02:35which means he has percentage ownership
02:37in two clubs who are both in the same competition,
02:41which means it's a massive sort of downfall for Palace
02:48if that's to continue.
02:50Obviously, Lyon did end up relegated,
02:53which could be a possible lifesaver.
02:55It means they are possibly likely
02:58to be disqualified from Europe,
03:01which means there is a lifeline for Palace.
03:03Obviously, it's still a bit up in the air at the moment.
03:05The case is ongoing.
03:08But yeah, take nothing away from Palace
03:10and qualify for the Europa League.
03:11They fully deserve it.
03:13John Texter was sort of really panicking
03:16in terms of trying to sell.
03:18But Lyon's relegation due to huge debt,
03:21and I mean, this is £400 million or so,
03:26is likely to automatically disqualify them from Europe,
03:30which means we will go ahead as planned.
03:34Palace will be in the Europa League
03:37that will remove any conflict for them.
03:39It means Nottingham Forest will stay
03:41as the club who are waiting
03:43to possibly jump in Palace's seat
03:46if they were to move down.
03:48So it means Forest will likely stay
03:50in the Conference League,
03:52especially with multi-club investors
03:53being more common across Europe.
03:56So they need to get this sorted for sure.
03:58You know, in summary,
04:01their Europa League future sort of hinges
04:03on resolving the ownership rules
04:05and Texas state sales,
04:06and then Lyon's future are also key wild cards.
04:10So Palace will be looking out for this one.
04:12It's a massive, massive case.
04:14It's something that Palace needs to get right
04:16and want to get right for moving forward.
04:17You know, Oliver Glass
04:18has a great future
04:19and a great squad at Crystal Palace as well.
04:22So hopefully they are in Europe next season
04:25and really give that a good go as well
04:27because, you know, who knows
04:28with Crystal Palace hitting the ground,
04:30running with their first ever trophy,
04:32who knows there could be more to come
04:33in London for them as well.
04:37So a massive, massive case
04:39and hopefully it's resolved sooner
04:41rather than later.
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