Crystal Palace have formally appealed against their demotion from the Europa League to the Europa Conference League. The appeal has been submitted to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) and is directed at UEFA, French side Lyon, and fellow English club Nottingham Forest.
The decision to drop the South London side into the third-tier competition stemmed from concerns regarding shared ownership. John Textor, an American investor, owns a significant portion of both Palace and Lyon. UEFA ruled this breached its multi-club ownership rules, which aim to prevent conflicts of interest within European competitions.
Should the current ruling remain, Forest – who ended the domestic season in seventh – are set to take Palace’s Europa League spot. This would allow the Midlands team to join continental action for the upcoming campaign.
In their case, Palace are requesting a reversal of UEFA’s financial control body’s decision. They are seeking reinstatement into the Europa League at the expense of either Lyon or Forest. A ruling from CAS is anticipated by 11 August, shortly after the Conference League play-off draw.
Arguments over influence and independence
The club’s leadership has maintained that there was no violation of competition integrity, stating Textor does not exert decisive power at Selhurst Park. Palace insisted that their operations are independent from those of Lyon, despite the investor’s dual interests.
Textor’s company, Eagle Football, holds a 43% interest in the Premier League outfit and a 77% share in the French club. Palace’s legal team argued that their internal structure and autonomy safeguard against any external sporting influence, a claim Uefa rejected.
Steve Parish, Palace’s chairman, expressed optimism last week on The Rest is Football podcast. He emphasised that their evidence clearly showed Textor had no determining control at the English club.
“We believe this decision is fundamentally wrong. It’s crystal clear to us that John wasn’t exercising authority in a way that breaches any rules,” said Parish. “We feel we demonstrated that conclusively.”
Context of the ownership dispute
Regulations imposed by UEFA prohibit individuals or entities with substantial control from having interests in more than one club participating in its tournaments. These rules are aimed at avoiding potential coordination or conflicts between clubs under common ownership.
The governing body had given clubs until 1 March 2025 to show evidence of restructuring. However, Palace did not meet this deadline. UEFA’s ruling cited this as a failure to comply.
Forest had previously contacted UEFA to seek clarification on Palace’s eligibility, aware they might benefit from a ruling against their league rivals. Forest’s owner, Evangelos Marinakis, had diluted his ownership share to sidestep similar restrictions due to his links with Olympiakos.
In a similar move, Textor agreed in June to transfer his Palace shares to Woody Johnson, owner of the NFL’s New York Jets. That agreement has not yet been finalised. Additionally, Textor resigned from his executive position at Lyon to support Palace’s case.
