John Textor on Monday stepped down from leading Olympique Lyonnais and handed the reins to Washington Spirit owner Michele Kang, while the UEFA said it’s delaying its decision on whether the French club and Crystal Palace comply with multi-club ownership rules until Lyon’s relegation fate is clear.
Textor has been trying to solve the multi-club ownership issue, including with the recent agreement to sell his 43% stake in Crystal Palace to Jets owner Woody Johnson. UEFA rules stipulate that clubs with common shareholders cannot play in the same European competition in the same season, but both Crystal Palace of the U.K. and Olympique Lyonnais of France have qualified for the 2025–26 UEFA Europa League tournament.
A UEFA ruling on whether Crystal Palace will be allowed to play in next season’s Europa League was expected Monday, but the organization announced it is postponing a decision because Lyon was relegated last week by the French soccer regulator, DNCG, over apparent financial issues. In order to qualify for a tournament like Europa League, a team must play in the top tier for its country, so if Lyon’s relegation stands, it no longer qualifies for Europa League. Lyon has appealed the relegation decision, and until that is decided the UEFA will hang tight.
Separately on Monday, Lyon announced that Textor is stepping down from his leadership positions at the club, including departing its board of directors. He will be replaced in day-to-day management of the club by Kang, who will take over as chairwoman and CEO of both Eagle Football Group—the holding company that owns teams including Lyon—and Lyon itself. Textor will still own a majority stake in Lyon through Eagle Football, which took over the club in 2022.
Kang said in Monday’s statement that this is a “critical moment” for Lyon and she is focused on “supporting the club through the DNCG process and beyond.”
Textor said he is “grateful to everyone at [Lyon] for their dedication during this exceptionally challenging time,” and called Kang a “perfect choice” to lead the club moving forward.
Kang, who owns a majority stake in the Lyon women’s team and already sat on the board of directors for Eagle Football, is a major player in the world of soccer. Not only is she owner of the NWSL’s Spirit, she is one of the most prolific investors in girls and women’s soccer worldwide.
In November, Kang made a $30 million donation to U.S. Soccer, the largest gift in federation history, money which is largely going toward youth development. Last July, Kang announced a $50 million donation to support female health initiatives in women’s sports and started her own sports science nonprofit to see it through. Last year she also gave $4 million to the U.S. women’s rugby program after it won Bronze at the Paris Olympics, and she has invested in the media company Just Women’s Sports, as well as IDA Sports, a company that makes women’s soccer cleats.
Kang, 66, built her fortune off her health-care technology company, Cognosante, and her venture capital firm, Cognosante Ventures. She first joined the NWSL’s Spirit with a 35% stake in 2020 and bought majority ownership of the team for $35 million in 2022. She is also part of the group that bought MLB’s Orioles last year.
