How Crystal Palace plan to beat UEFA in Europa League battle | OneFootball

Palace lawyers confident of overturning demotion to Conference League as Eagles face date with destiny at the Court of Arbitration for Sport

Crystal Palace’s fight with UEFA to play in the Europa League will be heard at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) on Friday.

Their appeal will take place in Lausanne on Friday, with the decision expected to be revealed by CAS on Monday.

Oliver Glasner has said he is confident Palace will win their appeal against what chairman Steve Parish has called “one of the greatest injustices” in the history of European football.

Here, Standard Sport looks at Palace’s plan to get UEFA’s decision overturned.

Palace’s lawyers will present a catalogue of evidence to CAS that seeks to prove they have been unfairly singled out, and that the rules are not being applied consistently.

Palace qualified for the Europa League by winning the FA Cup last season

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Last season, Manchester City and Girona both competed in the Champions League and Manchester United and Nice did likewise in the Europa League. In 2018, RB Leipzig and Red Bull Salzburg faced each other in the Champions League.

Palace will take aim at UEFA rules that allow those clubs to take advantage of a loophole where clubs set up a blind trust to navigate the regulations.

The Eagles will focus on the European Club Association [ECA], a group of 700 clubs that they are not part of it. Palace will point out that members of the ECA were told the March 1 deadline for multi-club ownership issues was not set in stone and that an extended period of up to May 31 would be allowed to resolve such matters.

When it looked like Nottingham Forest and Olympiacos, who are both owned by Evangelos Marinakis, could qualify for the Champions League, Marinakis effectively placed Forest into a blind trust. Companies House records show that Marinakis did so on April 30.

Palace will argue that such a move was helped by advice given by the ECA, which they were not party to. They will argue that this cannot be fair.

Palace will also present a document, drafted for Forest by lawyers, which references a 'preparatory period' extending to 'April 30, 2025'.

Palace chairman Steve Parish with the FA Cup, the first major trophy in the club’s history

Getty Images

Palace also believe further correspondence exists between UEFA and Forest on the matter, which they asked to be shown but have not been disclosed.

Palace will also stress the email to make clubs aware of the March 1 deadline was sent to their generic email used by fans to seek information - [email protected] - adding to the sense that they have been punished through no fault of their own.

A big chunk of the Palace case will centre around Textor, who has since sold his 43 per cent stake in Palace to New York Jets owner Woody Johnson.

Textor’s exit removes the barrier to their participation but Palace will also argue that he never held a position of influence at Selhurst Park.

Palace will argue they were never part of a multi-club model. They never shared expertise, resources or data with Lyon.

It will also be pointed out that UEFA waited for the result of Lyon’s appeal against their relegation before ruling on the case, showing deadlines are being policed differently.

Palace are expected to cite this as another example of a lack of consistency they hope will convince CAS to reinstate them back to the Europa League.