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A decision on whether Crystal Palace can compete in next season's Europa League has been delayed by Uefa.
The Eagles' place, earned by winning the FA Cup last season, has been under threat because of Uefa's multi-club ownership rules, which prevents teams under the same ownership from competing in the same European competition.
Co-owner John Textor, who also co-owns French club Lyon, has agreed to sell his 44% stake in Palace in a bid to help their case.
A decision on Palace's participation had been expected on Monday.
However, Lyon were demoted to Ligue 2 last week by the French football authorities on account of their poor finances.
The club are appealing against the decision but should they fail, they have agreed to relinquish their Europa League spot.
Uefa has therefore opted to wait until the outcome of the appeal before making a decision on Palace's participation.
It is not known how long Lyon's appeal will take, with Uefa stating further details will be announced in "due course".
Sources have told BBC Sport that Palace were prepared for Monday's decision once it was decided last week by European football's governing body to delay an announcement on the matter.
In June, Irish Premier Division club Drogheda United were expelled by Uefa from the Conference League due to the Trivela Group, who owns the club, also owning Danish outfit Silkeborg.
Should Palace be granted a spot in the competition, they will enter the group phase which begins in September. The draw for the group phase is on 29 August.
Textor is in the process of selling his stake in Palace to New York Jets owner Woody Johnson.
The American, 59, resigned from his leadership role at Lyon on Monday after deciding to step back from the day-to-day running of the club, in which he owns a 77% stake.
Last October, Textor's Eagle Football Group announced debts of £422m at Lyon.
The club said the decision to demote them into Ligue 2 was "incomprehensible" and that they would appeal the decision.
Uefa's decision to postpone their ruling was not a shock to Crystal Palace.
Enquiries made on Friday has led BBC Sport to believe that there is major concern among leading figures at Selhurst Park that Uefa doesn't want to rule on the matter - but wants the decision taken out of its hands by the DNCG, the regulatory body of French football.
If Lyon's relegation stands, Palace should be in next season's Europa League. If Lyon win their appeal, then Uefa will have to rule whether John Textor, who currently owns shares in both clubs, has held significant control at Palace.
Palace dispute that Textor held major control at the club and argue they are not in breach of Uefa's multi-club ownership regulations.
There is some sense at Palace that certain figures at Uefa are sympathetic with their predicament - that they earned the right to compete in next season's Europa League through sporting endeavours.
However, there is clearly a sense that the case isn't straightforward otherwise Uefa would have ruled in their favour by now.
There will be a major sense of injustice at Palace if their Europa League place is ripped away from them.
In their view, they are one of the most financially well-run sides in England, with a clean record in terms of staying on the right side of financial regulations.
The fact Lyon's financial state is so chaotic that they have provisionally been demoted from the top league is not lost on figures at Palace.
Nor is the irony of the Premier League side losing their place in the Europa League to Lyon given the juxtaposition between their respective balance sheets.
Nevertheless, for the time being, Palace's European hopes and how they prepare for next season are in the hands of the French football authorities.
Uefa's decision to delay making any decision is frustratingly logical. Why set a precedent and open yourself to appeals, when Textor and Lyon may spectacularly remove themselves from the equation with relegation to Ligue 2?
Logical or not, the wider frustration from a Palace perspective is the impact on planning, on and off the pitch. The lure of Europa League football was likely to attract a higher calibre of players to the club, much in the way that it could with sponsors to bolster the finances and facilitate those moves.
For fans, the concept of missing out remains unthinkable until Uefa rules otherwise.
There is, of course, still a path where Crystal Palace exit the four-year involvement with Textor and Eagle Football Group entirely unscathed and with a place in the Europa League. If anything, the chaos that surrounds his two European clubs, in contrast to Palace, is in itself a strong argument that Palace isn't operating as part of his MCO.
Lyon fans in France are protesting over the DNCG ruling, and RWD Molenbeek fans in Belgium are opposing a name change to Daring Brussels to make them more marketable to an overseas audience. Eagle Football and Textor finally achieved the desired solidarity between the fanbases of the sister clubs, including Palace, if only in wanting to see them sell up.
Thankfully for Palace fans, that sale is pending. Unfortunately, it hasn't come soon enough to avoid this current situation.
