Palace await Euro fate as Lyon win relegation appeal

Lyon finished sixth in Ligue 1 last season

Lyon will play in Ligue 1 next season after the French side won their appeal against relegation.

French football authorities demoted the seven-time champions into Ligue 2 last month because of their poor financial state.

But that decision has now been overturned, and could affect Crystal Palace's chances of playing in the Europa League next season as Lyon have also qualified for the competition.

Uefa could rule on Palace's situation by the end of the week.

A Lyon statement said: "Olympique Lyonnais welcomes the decision to keep the club in Ligue 1. OL thanks the appeal committee for having recognised the ambition of the club's new management, determined to ensure serious management in the future.

"Today's decision is the first step in restoring confidence in Olympique Lyonnais. We can now focus our attention on sporting goals, fully preparing for next season."

The uncertainty over Palace's European spot for next season stems from a perceived breach of Uefa's multi-club ownership rules.

Eagle Football Holdings - owned by American businessman John Textor - is at the centre of the case.

The company currently owns stakes in Palace and Lyon, with Uefa rules stating clubs cannot compete in the same European competition if they are owned to a certain threshold of influence by the same person or entity.

FA Cup winners Palace have argued Textor does not hold any decisive influence, but Uefa are yet to rule over whether they accept the Premier League side's defence.

Had Lyon's relegation been upheld, they had agreed with Uefa to be excluded from the Europa League, clearing the way for Palace to play in the competition.

Textor resigned from his position on the board of Lyon last month and has agreed to sell his 43% stake in Palace to New York Jets owner Woody Johnson.

'Palace fear the worst'

Crystal Palace's Europa League dreams now rest with Uefa, with those at Selhurst Park fearing the worst.

They are waiting on Uefa to decide whether John Textor's stake in the club breaches the governing body's multi-club ownership rules by the end of the week.

Uefa's decision to delay their ruling on whether Textor held decisive control at Selhurst Park has irked many at Palace, who believe the governing body wants to avoid making a resolution.

With Lyon having won their appeal against relegation from Ligue 1, Uefa cannot avoid the ruling much longer. It begs the question that if Uefa believed Palace were not in breach of their rules, would they have made that decision by now?

That's the concern for the Eagles.

Palace will likely have the comfort blanket of playing in the European Conference League next season, which would still represent their first foray into European club competition.

But if it comes to that, a sense of a massive miscarriage of justice will grip Selhurst Park.

They won't take it lying down either as the club have already explored their legal options before taking the case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport if required.