UEFA has announced that Crystal Palace will be relegated to the Conference League amid concerns over minority shareholder John Textor’s dual ownership with Lyon, who are also in the Europa League.
The football authority had been deliberating on whether the FA Cup champions should face a ban due to Textor’s majority stake in Lyon. Despite this, Textor has maintained his lack of direct control at Palace, asserting he can demonstrate his absence from “management decisions” at the club and refuting any involvement in hiring Oliver Glasner as head coach.
“Why should I put my interest in a trust back before March when the rule says you only have to do it if you have decisive influence? I don’t,” Textor defended himself on TalkSport.
“[Chairman Steve] Parish is making decisions. He’s bringing in players. He involves us, but he doesn’t really listen to us. He does, but a suggestion from time to time is not the same as decisive influence.”
Textor further denied being instrumental in Glasner’s appointment last year, explaining: “I tried to hire him in Lyon. And if [former Palace sporting director] Dougie Freedman notices and he goes to visit him in Salzburg just the way I did and he ends up at Crystal Palace, is there a connection there? I don’t know.
“Steve’s not going to be told who to hire as a coach. It’s incredibly untrue. We sat in front of the Uefa panel and were extremely consistent on the lack of decisive influence.
“I don’t even know if I suggested him to Dougie but Dougie recruited him.”