French giants Lyon have been relegated to Ligue 2 by French football’s financial watchdog, the Direction Nationale du Contrôle de Gestion (DNCG), after failing to address a significant financial shortfall.
Owner John Textor attended a DNCG hearing on Tuesday and publicly expressed confidence afterwards, claiming the club’s finances had improved.
“You can see from the contributions of our shareholders, we have invested new capital, not only for the DNCG, but also for our UEFA licensing process,” he said.
“Not to mention the good news of the sale of Crystal Palace. Our liquidity situation has improved.”
Despite his optimism, the DNCG ruled that Lyon had not done enough to secure their Ligue 1 status.
The club now has seven days to appeal the decision, which would delay any final ruling and, according to RMC Sport, could give them ‘a few more weeks’ to prove they are in an acceptable financial position.
Should the appeal fail, Lyon will be playing in Ligue 2 next season. One club that could benefit is Stade Reims, who were relegated after losing a play-off to FC Metz.
Under Article 520 of the Ligue de Football Professionnel (LFP)’s regulations, if a club is refused participation in Ligue 1 due to financial or disciplinary reasons, the losing side from the relegation play-off is reinstated.
Textor has already been making headlines due to the uncertainty surrounding Crystal Palace’s place in next season’s Europa League.
He recently agreed to sell his 43 per cent stake in the Premier League club to US businessman Woody Johnson, a move aimed at resolving a conflict with UEFA’s multi-club ownership rules.
“Whilst the completion is pending approval from the Premier League and Women’s Super League, we do not envisage any issues and look forward to welcoming Woody as a partner and director of the club,” read a Palace statement.
Both Lyon and Crystal Palace qualified for the Europa League — Lyon via their Ligue 1 finish, and Palace by winning the FA Cup — which brought them into conflict with UEFA rules prohibiting shared control of multiple clubs in the same competition.
Under UEFA regulations, clubs must have resolved any multi-club ownership issues by March 1, 2025, and maintain compliance throughout the season.
Textor’s sale of his Palace stake was a belated attempt to avoid sanctions, but with Lyon potentially barred from European competition altogether due to their financial issues, the move may prove unnecessary.
If Lyon are ruled ineligible, Palace would face no threat of demotion to the Europa Conference League, where Nottingham Forest currently await a possible reprieve.