This past week shaped out to be a big one for English football side, Crystal Palace. They were set to present their case to the Court of Abritation for Sport (CAS) on Friday; face Premier League champions, Liverpool, in the Community Shield on Sunday and finally learn of the outcome of the hearing this past Monday.
It looked like Crystal Palace had a bright future. Everyone believed that they made a compelling case and were optimistic that the decision would go in their favour. To add to their belief, they overcame the champions to win the Community Shield, 3-2 on penalties. This came after the score was drawn 2-2 at full time.
Alas, their joy turned to disappointment and sadness when they lost their court case.
I wrote a piece on the story when it was first reported. You can check it out here.
Crystal Palace have lost their appeal against being demoted from the Europa League and will play in the Conference League this season. The ruling from CAS also means Nottingham Forest's spot in the Europa League is confirmed, having been promoted in Palace's place.
The news comes just a day after Palace beat Liverpool on penalties to win the Community Shield at Wembley. The Eagles qualified for the Europa League after winning the FA Cup last season but were punished by UEFA for breaching multi-club ownership rules.
American businessman, John Textor, owned a 43% stake in the club until he sold it in June and is the majority owner of Lyon, who have also qualified for the Europa League.
Palace had until 1 March 2025 to show UEFA proof of multi-club ownership restructuring but the club missed that deadline. In July, Palace submitted an appeal to CAS against UEFA - which issued the punishment - as well as Lyon and Nottingham Forest.
In the ruling, CAS said:
- Regulations are clear and do not provide flexibility to clubs that are non-compliant on the assessment date, as Palace claimed.
- Textor still had decisive influence over both clubs at the time of UEFA's assessment date.
- The panel also dismissed Palace's argument that they received unfair treatment in comparison to Nottingham Forest and Lyon.
UEFA rules state clubs owned, to a certain threshold of influence, by the same person or entity can't compete in the same European tournament.
Crystal Palace chairman, Steve Parish, was dreading the news when it arrived less than 24 hours after he basked in the glory of watching Crystal Palace win their second trophy in three months. Parish had been confident that the club’s appeal against their demotion from the Europa League would succeed as he discussed their prospects at Wembley Stadium after beating Liverpool in the Community Shield on Sunday.
"I really am, even more after Friday," the club chair said. "I don’t understand that we cannot be in the competition. I really can’t. But it’s up to the judges to decide. We trust them and that they listened to everything we said so let’s see."
Palace argued Textor doesn't hold any decisive influence at the club but UEFA didn't accept the Premier League side's defence. Palace will face either Norwegian side, Fredrikstad or Midtjylland of Denmark in the Conference League play-off round later this month.
The CAS statement made clear the role of John Textor, the American businessman who last month sold his 44.9% stake in Palace to the New York Jets owner, Woody Johnson, was decisive. Textor has admitted that seconds after Palace’s victory against Manchester City in the FA Cup final in May that he feared the worst regarding participation in the Europa League, given that he owns Lyon, who also qualified.
The CAS panel – consisting of a Dutch former striker, a Swiss former fencer who competed in the 1984 Olympics and an Italian professor – backed Uefa’s findings that Textor, "was a board member with decisive influence over both clubs at the time of UEFA’s assessment date." It also dismissed Palace’s argument that they had received unfair treatment compared to Nottingham Forest and Lyon and said missing the 1 March deadline for Textor to place his shares into a blind trust had been crucial.
Textor has been the target of most Palace fans’ frustration, although several have also taken aim at the Nottingham Forest owner, Evangelos Marinakis. Forest, who are poised to take Palace’s Europa League place, wrote to UEFA a few weeks after the FA Cup final expressing concern that Palace may have contravened multi-club ownership regulations.
Parish suggested last month in an interview with Gary Lineker that their Premier League rivals had played a role in the decision to ban them. "We were told that and I think it’s been made public," he said. "These things seem to be played out in public. There doesn’t seem to be a lot of confidentiality that comes out of certain organisations. But we’re led to believe that’s the issue – if there wasn’t somebody that wanted to get in as a consequence, then there wouldn’t be a problem."
"People have got to look at themselves. Some people will say it’s fine, some people will say it’s not. I don’t really have control of that. I only have control of the arguments that we put forward to UEFA."
Palace’s case is believed to have included evidence that only members of the European Club Association were informed UEFA’s 1 March deadline for complying with multi-club rules could be extended until 31 May – a fact that enabled Marinakis to place Forest into a blind trust when it seemed they might qualify for the Champions League along with his Greek club, Olympiacos.
Palace are also understood to have highlighted the burgeoning friendship between Marinakis and Textor. The American denies that had any bearing on his conduct and described as untrue reports he is planning to incorporate his Brazilian club, Botafogo, into the Greek shipping magnate’s network of clubs.
The club said on Tuesday that sporting merit had been "rendered meaningless" by UEFA's decision to demote them from the Europa League.
Steve Parish had already been vocal in his criticism after the initial demotion and, with their fate sealed, the south London club again blasted the decision.
"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," Palace said in a statement.
"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."
Textor has since sold his shares to New York Jets owner Woody Johnson, a takeover completed in late July.
"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," the Palace statement added.
"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." Palace added that the process was, "designed to severely restrict and, in our case, make it almost impossible to receive a fair hearing."
"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."
It is a bitter blow after what should have been a celebratory season, capped by Palace’s first major trophy in May, when they beat Manchester City in a dramatic FA Cup final. Nottingham Forest are the beneficiaries, stepping into Palace’s place in the Europa League.
Tensions between the two clubs may simmer, with Palace fans pointing fingers at Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis, who wrote to UEFA shortly after the FA Cup final to raise concerns about Palace potentially breaching multi-club ownership rules.
Forest themselves narrowly avoided a similar fate, with Marinakis also owning Olympiacos. Both sides were, at one stage, in line for Champions League qualification before Forest fell short on the final day.
Marinakis ensured compliance by relinquishing day-to-day control of Forest before the March deadline, resuming control later. The Greek billionaire has insisted Forest played no part in Palace’s demotion, describing it as a matter solely between the Selhurst Park club and UEFA; but Palace supporters are unlikely to be convinced.
The stakes are significant, with the Europa League offering up to £50 million (about R1.19 billion) more in prize money than the Conference League and a potential route into the Champions League — a pathway Tottenham Hotspur have previously exploited.
With American, Middle Eastern and multi-club consortiums increasingly prominent in the game, the controversy surrounding overlapping ownership is unlikely to fade.
In the wake of this case, Uefa may face renewed calls to review both the timing and flexibility of their assessments.
It's rather unfortunate for Crystal Palace and their fans. A possible silver lining is that they will get some form of European football. I believe that Nottingham Forest should've stayed out of the matter. One shouldn't stick their nose in matters that don't involve them. It's completely selfish to do so if an outcome will go in their favour.