On March 1, Crystal Palace and Olympique Lyonnais were both the property of the American John Textor. However, UEFA regulations stipulate that two clubs belonging to the same owner cannot participate in the same competition. Lyon was admitted to the Europa League, while Palace was relegated to Conference League, due to the less good ranking in its championship (12th of the Premier League while Lyon finished 6th in Ligue 1). Good news therefore for Malick Fofana, which could however leave the Rhone in the coming days … and for Mats Salts. His Nottingham Forest club will therefore be upgraded in C3 and take the place of Crystal Palace.
Meanwhile, Textor has sold his shares at Crystal Palace to his compatriot Woody Johnson, owner of the American New York Jets football team. Textor, through his company Eagle, also has the Brazilian club Botafogo and the RWDM Brussels. In June, he briefly renamed the latter in Daring Brussels, which aroused strong protests from supporters, and the club was therefore renamed in RWDM Brussels.