Oliver Glasner has called on Crystal Palace to win the Conference League final on Wednesday night, ensuring they claim the Europa League place they were denied this season due to Uefa’s multi-club ownership rules. The Austrian manager, who is departing after the match, confirmed that players held a farewell party for him on Monday.
Palace were demoted from the Europa League to the Conference League after Uefa determined that John Textor had a controlling interest in both Palace and Lyon, who also qualified. They face Rayo Vallecano in Leipzig, with more than 15,000 supporters expected. Glasner, who won the Europa League with Eintracht Frankfurt in 2022, backed his team to secure a third trophy in 12 months.
“I said for me that the best thing would be winning tomorrow because then the players would be in the Europa League next year and then we get what we should have got this year,” Glasner said. “I would like to watch on TV that they start with the desire and the confidence that we can win the Europa League as well.”
Palace are hopeful of appointing Andoni Iraola as Glasner’s replacement, though the outgoing Bournemouth manager also has interest from Milan and Bayer Leverkusen. Lens manager Pierre Sage is a contender if Iraola declines. Captain Dean Henderson said losing Glasner would be “a huge miss”, adding that the team has built a special rapport with supporters.
Adam Wharton and Chris Richards trained on Tuesday but are not guaranteed to start. Rayo Vallecano manager Iñigo Pérez, formerly Iraola’s assistant, described Palace as a “dream rival” and emphasised the importance of maintaining their neighbourhood identity despite the budget disparity.
