Lyon was previously sentenced to demotion to Ligue 2. ESPN reported that Lyon was confident that the decision was revoked. The appeal hearing will be held on Wednesday morning local time and is crucial for Crystal Palace to hope to participate in the European war for the first time. Crystal Palace qualified for the Europa League after winning the FA Cup in May. If Lyon can stay in Ligue 1, then they are also likely to remain in the European game, which may mean that Crystal Palace will lose this opportunity.

On June 24, the French National Control and Administration fined Lyon for financial issues and demoted it to French Ligue 2. Lyon appealed and submitted a new plan to the committee to convince them to revoke the initial decision.

The main problems are the 541 million euros debt owed by the club and the high salary expenditure, but insufficient cash flow. To return to Ligue 1, Lyon will need to inject 100 million euros in cash and provide another 100 million euros as a guarantee over the next two years.

Lyon owner John Texter served as club chairman through his holding company Eagles Football Group, but was forced to resign from his board member and chairman due to pressure from his partners. Michelle Kang, a shareholder of Hawks Football Group, is a successful businesswoman who is now in charge of club affairs.

Texter also owns a portion of the shares of Crystal Palace through Eagles Soccer Group. He is in a £190 million sale with New York Jets owner Woody Johnson, but the deal has not been officially confirmed. The ruling results will be announced Wednesday night. If the relegation decision is maintained, Lyon will have to withdraw from the UEFA Cup that he was originally going to participate in this season. In fact, UEFA has stated that they will not be allowed to participate in European competitions if Lyon’s relegation decision is maintained.

However, Lyon can appeal again. If this appeal fails, they have one last chance to fight in court.