BREAKING: Crystal Palace KICKED OUT of Europa League as UEFA release official statement

UEFA have confirmed that Crystal Palace will be demoted to the Conference League. The governing body had been evaluating whether the FA Cup winners should be banned from the competition because minority shareholder John Textor is the majority owner at Lyon, the French side also qualified for the Europa League.

Textor had reiterated that he never held direct influence over Palace, with the Eagles’ minority shareholder insisting that he can prove he has never made “management decisions” at Selhurst Park while denying any say in appointing 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,” he told TalkSport on Thursday.

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“[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 also dismissed reports that he was key to bringing in Glasner last year. He added: “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.”

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