The ongoing threat to Crystal Palace’s participation in the Europa League next season may have evaporated after Lyon, the French side which had been part of the same multi-club ownership model, were relegated to Ligue 2 because of serious financial issues. It was the fact that 43 per cent of Palace belonged to Eagle Football Holdings, a company run by US businessman John Textor and also the owners of Lyon, that amounted to a breach of Uefa competition rules. Even after it was announced on Monday that Textor had agreed the sale of his stake to American billionaire Woody Johnson, it became clear that Palace’s participation remained under threat because Uefa’s rules do not appear to allow for any flexibility for ownership changes after the March 1 deadline. But the news of Lyon’s relegation, announced on Tuesday night, should now resolve the situation unless the French club can respond with a successful appeal. With demotion to the second tier, their sixth-place finish in L...