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UEFA has strict rules on multi-club ownership. | Credit: PA Images
Crystal Palace’s demotion from the Europa League to the Conference League was one of the longest-running sagas of last summer.
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The Eagles’ historic FA Cup triumph sealed their place in Europe but they were punished for breaching multi-club ownership rules as one of their shareholders, John Textor, was majority owner of French side Lyon, who also qualified for the Europa League.
It meant that Nottingham Forest took Palace‘s place in Europe’s second biggest club competition, with the south London club unsuccessfully appealing to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) against their demotion to the Conference League.
Premier League club face European headache over ownership rules
Nottingham Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis saw his team promoted to the Europa League at Crystal Palace’s expense | Credit: Getty Images
UEFA rules state that clubs owned by the same person or entity cannot compete in the same European competition.
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And with the number of multi-club ownership groups only increasing, more teams could fall foul of the regulations that cost Palace a spot in the Europa League.
Everton are eyeing a return to Europe | Credit: Stu Forster/Getty Images
According to Italian newspaper La Repubblica, Everton could find themselves in the situation that Palace were in 12 months ago.
The Toffees are owned by The Friedkin Group, led by chairman Dan Friedkin, which also holds a majority stake in Italian giants Roma.
Both clubs are targeting European qualification this season, with Everton eighth in the Premier League but only three points behind fifth-place Liverpool, meaning they could still seal a place in any of the three continental competitions.
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Roma, meanwhile, are sixth in Serie A, which as things stand would see them qualify for the Conference League, but they are just three points shy of the Champions League positions.
It means the two clubs could yet avoid each other, but La Repubblica reports that if both qualify for the same competition, one will be demoted.
Dan Friedkin, whose Friedkin Group holds the majority stake in both Everton and Roma | Credit: Fabio Rossi/AS Roma via Getty Images
The report adds that the situation is “under close scrutiny” at UEFA, whose rules strictly prohibit two teams with the same owner meeting in European competition.
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The deadline for clubs with the same owners to provide proof of restructuring at board level, such as by relinquishing a majority stake in one of the clubs they own, is thought to be March 1.
La Repubblica claims there is no sign of the Friedkin Group considering this, but it adds that if both clubs qualify for the Europa League then Everton would keep their place in the competition.