How Crystal Palace’s failed fight to stay in the Europa League unfolded | OneFootball

Crystal Palace have officially been demoted from the Europa League.

The Eagles thought they had secured their place in the continent’s second-tier tournament after defying all the odds to win the FA Cup - their first-ever major trophy - which resulted in them qualifying for the Europa League.

However, Uefa ordered the Eagles to play the Conference League, Europe’s third-tier competition, after breaching the tournament’s multi-club ownership rules, which do not allow teams under the same owner to compete in the same competition.

Palace’s appeal against the verdict has been now been dismissed by the Court of Arbitration of Sport (CAS), sealing their fate and cancelling their Europa League football before it’s even begun.

Here’s everything you need to know about Crystal Palace’s failed fight to stay in the Europa League:

How are Crystal Palace in breach of multi-club ownership rules?

Much of this saga centred around American businessman and Eagle Football Holdings owner John Textor. Prior to the summer, Eagle Football held a 43 per cent stake in Crystal Palace, but also owns a 77 per cent stake in Ligue 1 outfit Lyon, who akin to Palace have also qualified for next season’s rendition of the Europa League.

To prevent collusion, Uefa does not allow multiple clubs under the same owner to compete in one of its competitions, and in the case that two teams under a multi-club model qualify for the same tournament, the side that achieved the better finish in its domestic season gets priority. Lyon finished sixth last term and qualified via their league position, while Palace finished 12th.

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John Textor is the heart of the issue for Crystal Palace due to his ownership of Lyon (Getty Images)

However, there was a way around this. Under Article 5 or Uefa’s rulebook, clubs had until March 1 of this year to have complied with the requirements to prove they are not "simultaneously involved in any capacity whatsoever in the management, administration, and/or sporting performance of more than one club participating in a Uefa club competition".

What this often entails is the adaptation of shareholdings - such as putting shares in a blind trust - to follow regulations, with the likes of Ineos, the City Group and, most recently, Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis all doing so to ensure their teams face no barriers to compete in Europe. Marinakis was preparing for the eventuality that Forest would qualify for the Champions League alongside Olympiakos, who are also owned by the Greek billionaire.

Uefa’s deadline of 1 March is clear, but Palace missed it. After all, their route to such a conflict was incredibly unforeseen at that point - they were sitting in the bottom half of the table and were only in the FA Cup fifth round. Meanwhile, Lyon only managed to gain European qualification in the season’s last breath, moving into a Conference League spot thanks to a 99th-minute Le Havre winner at Strasbourg on the final day, before Paris Saint-Germain won the Coupe de France to bump Lyon into the Europa League.

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Lyon get priority over Crystal Palace in the Europa League due to their superior league standing (Getty Images)

While a lack of foresight may prove unforgiving, it is understood that Textor’s position meant he could not be enforced by the club to place his shares in a blind trust due to a lack of legal authority. With the deadline long gone, Palace told Uefa that they were ready to take immediate steps to comply with their requirements, but also argued against the claim that they are in serious breach of the requirements at all.

Textor went on to sell his stake at Selhurst Park a bid to save Palace’s Europa League status, with controversial New York Jets owner Woody Johnson completing the acquisition of the American’s shareholding last month in a deal believed to be worth close to £200m. However, the move came too late to satisfy Uefa, who ordered their demotion on July 11.

What was Crystal Palace’s defence?

Crystal Palace argued that their historic FA Cup triumph and subsequent Europa League qualification were achieved on their own merit rather than via the benefits of a multi-club system, and that the response to eject them from the competition was disproportionate.

They also refuted that they operate under such a multi-club model, with Textor (prior to his sale) holding just 25 per cent of the voting rights - crucially, less than 30 per cent. Palace chairman Steve Parish and his top brass are widely accepted to be the key decision-makers at Palace, with Parish having the determining vote, while Textor had comparatively inferior influence.

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Steve Parish (right) is widely accepted to be the man with the final say at Palace (Getty Images)

As such, there was an argument that Palace’s operation is entirely independent, claiming not to have been assisted by Textor’s Lyon connection in their FA Cup triumph last term. According to the club, this was in the sense that there have been no employee or coach sharing, no joint strategy, no collective scouting, no shared assets or facilities, and the fact that the last transfer between the two outfits came in August 2023, when now-Everton defender Jake O’Brien left Palace for Lyon.

How did Crystal Palace fight back?

Palace initially entered crisis talks with Uefa, with Parish and Textor being invited to the governing body’s headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland. Textor was part of the contingent to argue that his influence at the club is minimal - something he publicly made clear he was frustrated about before selling his stake.

But after their initial efforts to convince Uefa that the club weren’t in serious breach of multi-club ownership rules went awry, an appeal was submitted to CAS following their demotion.

Crystal Palace fans have also vehemently protested the decision. Hundreds of supporters staged an initial protest outside Selhurst Park, marching from Norwood Clocktower to Palace’s stadium carrying banners, with one at the front declaring “UEFA: MORALLY BANKRUPT. REVOKE THE RULING NOW”. The march, organised by Palace ultras Holmesdale Fanatics, had urged supporters of all teams to join the march, inviting “those who are disillusioned with the state of modern football, those who are tired of the authorities favouring a small cartel of larger clubs all in the name of profit, and those who want to bring football back to the fans, where it belongs”.

A week later, The Independent revealed that core members of the Holmesdale Fanatics travelled to Uefa’s HQ to combat the perceived injustice head-on. They gained access to the building to hand deliver a letter addressed to Uefa president Aleksander Ceferin, which demanded a reversal of “this moral injustice” and Palace’s reinstatement into the Europa League. The group also presented Uefa with a suitcase of fake money, which represented “the contradictions between their supposed ‘fundamental values’ of integrity and fairness, and the reality of their business methods and general conduct”, as described in a statement from the fan group.

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Crystal Palace delivered a suitcase of fake money to Uefa in protest to their European demotion (Holmesdale Fanatics)

“We travelled to Switzerland to represent all Palace supporters in this fight against a morally unjust decision from Uefa and to demonstrate the public mood demands this ruling is overturned and justice is served,” Holmesdale Fanatics member Mick Grafton told The Independent.

Following the protest in Nyon, they travelled to the Lausanne headquarters of CAS to reiterate their desire to have the ruling overturned.

Why did Nottingham Forest get involved?

Nottingham Forest wrote to Uefa in June to express their concerns and a desire for clarity over Crystal Palace’s involvement in the Europa League when they might be in breach of the governing body’s multi-ownership rules.

As previously stated above, Forest were in a similar boat in regard to the possibility of falling foul of these regulations, only in the Champions League, which led to Marinakis diluting his control of the club.

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Evangelos Marinakis was forced to dilute his control of Nottingham Forest to follow Uefa’s regulations in the case both Forest and Olympiakos qualified for the Champions League (PA Wire)

Forest missed out on Europe’s premier competition on the final day of the Premier League season, allowing Marinakis to retake the reins, but stood to gain from Crystal Palace’s failure to change their ownership structure by the March 1 deadline.

This is because they finished the season in seventh - at present a Conference League spot. They have now been lifted into the Europa League at Palace’s expense.

Palace’s subsequent appeal to Cas was lodged on 22 July, the procedure of which was expedited so to reach a decision on 11 August.

A closed-door hearing took place in Lausanne on 8 August, with Cas confirming on Monday that their appeal against Uefa had been unsuccessful.

Cas cited that Textor had “decisive influence” over both Palace and Lyon at the time of the Uefa assessment date as key to the final verdict.

Full statement from Cas

A statement from Cas read: “The Court of Arbitration for Sport (Cas) has dismissed an appeal by Crystal Palace FC (CPFC) against Uefa, Nottingham Forest FC and Olympique Lyonnais (OL) concerning a decision by Uefa to remove CPFC from the Uefa Europa League 2025/2026 due to a breach of Uefa multi club ownership regulations. As a result, CPFC will be admitted to compete in the Uefa Conference League 2025/2026.

“The appeal sought to annul the decision by the Uefa Club Financial Control Body on 11 July 2025 which found CPFC and OL non-compliant with multi club ownership regulations. Alongside the annulment of the decision, CPFC requested readmission to the Uefa Europa League with Nottingham Forest or OL’s admission rejected.

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Crystal Palace fans holding up a banner reading "Uefa Mafia" as they protest their club's European demotion (AFP/Getty)

“An in-person hearing took place at Cas headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland on 8 August 2025. The Cas Panel was composed of Prof. Luigi Fumagalli as President (Italy), Mr Manfred P. Nan (the Netherlands) and Mr Olivier Carrard (Switzerland).

“After considering the evidence, the Panel found that John Textor, founder of Eagle Football Holdings, had shares in CPFC and OL and was a Board member with decisive influence over both clubs at the time of Uefa’s assessment date.

“The Panel also dismissed the argument by CPFC that they received unfair treatment in comparison to Nottingham Forest and OL. The Panel considered that the Uefa Regulations are clear and do not provide flexibility to clubs that are non-compliant on the assessment date, as CPFC claimed.

“This was an expedited procedure, with an operative decision rendered two and a half weeks after the appeal, filed on 21 July 2025. Unless Parties request confidentiality, a full Award (with grounds) will be made available on the Cas website in due course.”

For Palace, this fight has now been lost.

They will play in the Conference League this season, a tournament which starts on 2 October. Forest, meanwhile, will compete in the Europa League, which starts on 25 September.

The draw for the league phase of both competitions will take place on 29 August, when Palace will learn their first European opponents.