Updated / Friday, 11 Jul 2025 16:42
Crystal Palace have been forced to drop down to the Conference League after falling foul of UEFA's rules on multi-club ownership.
Palace qualified for the Europa League thanks to their FA Cup final victory over Manchester City in May, but under Article Five of UEFA's club competition regulations, clubs wishing to be eligible for qualification in 2025-26 had to be able to demonstrate as of March 1 that no individual or legal entity had control or influence over more than one club in the same competition.
UEFA's Club Financial Control Body (CFCB) determined that American businessman John Textor's interest in both Palace and Lyon meant only one of the clubs could enter the Europa League, with Lyon's higher league position edging out Palace.
Palace will drop into the Conference League, with Nottingham Forest expected to replace them in the Europa League, though this was not immediately confirmed by UEFA.
UEFA said the decision could be appealed against at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).
Last month [Drogheda United were expelled](https://www.rte.ie/sport/soccer/2025/0612/1518138-drogheda-to-be-expelled-from-conference-league-by-uefa/) from the Conference League due to ownership rules.
The Drogs, owned by the Trivela Group, qualified for the competition by winning last year's FAI Cup.
However, Danish side Silkeborg, also under the Trivela umbrella, secured a place in the Conference League through their league position, and it was they who took priority due to their higher league position under UEFA guidelines.
Drogheda appealed the decision at CAS but lost their case.