Parish stated, “UEFA sent an email in January to
info@cpfc.co.uk.” And Textor stated, “UEFA sent us an email in late February.” Parish also stated, “They kept sending it and sending it.”
This has to be a significant factor in the CFCB’s decision-making process to ban us from the Europa League. In other words, a case of extreme insularity and naively on Palace’s part, but that doesn’t justify an outright ban.
Questions & Analysis:
What address should UEFA be sending emails to Crystal Palace? Clearly, Parish doesn’t like the one they used.
Who is responsible for monitoring CPFC emails and forwarding them on?
Were they finally forwarded to the directors and chairman in late February?
If Textor had these emails forwarded to him in late February, why didn’t he seek clarification, as a matter of some urgency, from the ECA regarding his MCO status?
And the same onus also applies to Blitzer.
Were these emails exactly the same, or was the wording changed to heighten the need to acknowledge and respond? It defies all belief that UEFA were just resending the same email.
How long does it take to respond to critical emails like these? The same day, that’s how long it takes!
If Textor (and the same also applies to Blitzer) had acted responsibly and had sought appropriate advice, through their membership of the ECA, they would, at the very least, have documented ‘a registered interest’ in this matter that would have bought them enough time to put their shares into a blind trust by the 30th of April final deadline.
I do appreciate that UEFA have hardened their position, and are making it increasingly difficult for MCOs to operate; but MCOs also need to protect their business interests, their operational integrity, and their reputation, plus the interests of the club they have invested in, in what is now a very difficult and treacherous climate for them.
I also appreciate that foreseeing this scenario would have been highly unlikely, but you have to be risk 100% risk averse regarding financial regulations, which means keeping your ear very close to the ground by continuously networking and employing some of the best sport lawyers and specialists in the business. And, at the very least, you seek independent advice from the ECA, and don’t just assume that you know what rules apply to you. And bear in mind, the chairman of the ECA,
Nasser Al-Khelaifi, also sits on UEFA’s executive committee.
All this is hugely expensive and very time consuming, but if you want to be both competent and successful in managing a sporting portfolio that runs into hundreds of millions, you also need an accountability threshold that can justify the expenditure of vast amounts of money and the potential impact it can have on innumerable supporters of the clubs you both own and manage.
England
Ireland
Bermuda
