The former Crystal Palace owner John Textor has suffered another setback with the UK commercial court ruling he has a case to answer in a $97m (£72m) claim from an investor in his multi-club group, Eagle Football.

The dispute stems from Iconic Sport’s $75m purchase three years ago of a 15.7% stake in Eagle, which holds majority stakes in Lyon, Botafogo of Brazil and the rebranded Belgian club RWD Brussels (formerly RWD Molenbeek). Eagle was also the biggest shareholder at Palace until July, when Textor sold his 43% stake to former US ambassador Woody Johnson.

Iconic brought the legal action against Textor in July, alleging he had failed to honour a contract to buy back their $75m stake if Eagle was not floated on the stock exchange, plus 11% in annual interest.

Textor had countersued Iconic in the United States in July alleging he was duped, but the Florida district court dismissed that motion this week, ruling the case should be heard in the UK.

In his defence, Textor claimed Iconic failed to hand over the paperwork required to complete the deal, most notably a stock transfer form and share certificate, and argued that the obligation to buy them...