Crystal Palace issue furious response to appeal decision: ‘Sporting merit is rendered meaningless’ | OneFootball

Crystal Palace have accused Uefa and the Court of Arbitration for Sport (Cas) of rendering sporting merit as “meaningless” after the club’s demotion to the Conference League was upheld on appeal.

Palace had challenged Uefa’s decision to remove them from the Europa League over multi-club ownership rules, but failed in their challenge at Cas on Monday, and will thus play in the tertiary European competition in the upcoming season.

Uefa demoted the FA Cup winners after finding that the Eagle Football Group were majority owners of Lyon while their chairman John Textor owned a controlling stake in the London club at the time of assessment in March of this year. Uefa regulations state that where one or more clubs are found to have shared ownership, they cannot play in the same competition, and Lyon held on to the Europa League spot by virtue of their higher league position.

Textor has since sold his shares to New York Jets owner Woody Johnson, a purchase completed in late July. Nottingham Forest will replace Crystal Palace in the Europa League having finished seventh in the Premier League last season.

Responding to the decision, the London club claimed that “certain clubs, organisations and individuals” had a “unique privilege and power”, and suggested that the decision-making process over their appeal had been flawed.

Crystal Palace said in a statement: “At a time when we should be celebrating our victory in the Community Shield at Wembley, the decision by Uefa and followed by the Court of Arbitration for Sport shows that sporting merit is rendered meaningless.

“When we won the FA Cup against Manchester City on that momentous day in May, our manager and players earned the right to play Europa League football. We have been denied that opportunity.

“It appears that certain clubs, organisations and individuals have a unique privilege and power. This growing and unhealthy influence has shattered the hopes and dreams of Crystal Palace supporters, and does not bode well for aspirational teams all over Europe competing to progress when rules and sanctions are unevenly applied in the most flagrant way.

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Crystal Palace fans protested against Uefa’s decision during the Community Shield (AFP/Getty)

“Multi-club structures hide behind the charade of a “blind trust” while clubs such as ours, who have no connection to another club whatsoever, are prevented from playing in the same competition.

“To compound the injustice, clubs that appear to have huge informal arrangements with each other are also allowed to participate and even possibly play against each other.

“While we respect the Cas tribunal members, the process is designed to severely restrict and, in our case, make it almost impossible to receive a fair hearing.

“The denial of all disclosure requests to obtain correspondence between the relevant parties, the refusal to allow witness testimony from those involved, and the general lack of formality and respect for law mean decisions cannot be properly challenged, leading to pre-determined outcomes.

“Uefa’s decision has wider implications for the governance of the sport. A combination of poorly conceived regulations and their unequal application means our brilliant fans will be deprived of the chance to watch this team compete in the Europa League for the first time in our history.

“This should be a turning point for football. Uefa must fulfil its mandate to pass coherent rules which are properly communicated and applied, with reasonable cure periods to resolve uncertainty and consistent sanctions, treating all clubs equally with a proper appeal process.

“The European Court of Justice has made it clear that rulings similar to this will be under greater scrutiny from national courts in future. Only then will fairness and due process be granted to every team.

“Although we continue to take legal advice on the next steps, we will compete in the Conference League with the same determination and will to win that characterises this incredible club.”