Gaddafi sets sights on Palace

Gaddafi sets sights on Palace

LONDON: Libyan leader Colonel Muammar Gaddafi could buy promoted English premier league soccer club Crystal Palace, The Guardian newspaper reported on Saturday.

It said Gaddafi, who owns a 7.5 percent stake in Italian club Juventus, has not made an offer yet but has shown interest in the small south London club that surprisingly won the promotion playoffs in May.

"I've been told that Gaddafi and his son (Al-Saadi) are interested in acquiring Palace," the Guardian quoted the club's chairman Simon Jordan as saying.

Jordan said there had been no formal approach but if there was "I'd consider it ... If it's beneficial to the club it will be considered."

Ties between Britain and Libya warmed this year after the latter agreed to pay damages for the 1988 airliner bombing over Lockerbie, Scotland, which killed 270 people. --Reuters