Crystal Palace have been waiting for weeks to find out their Europa League fate, and UEFA have now ruled that, as things stand, they will not be taking part in the competition.
The Eagles, who qualified for the Europa League by winning the FA Cup, are now set to compete in the Europa Conference League.
UEFA’s decision is due to Crystal Palace having been deemed to have breached the governing body’s multi-club ownership rules.
However, UEFA said the Eagles could appeal their ruling with the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
Sky Sports journalist Kaveh Solhekol has now spoken about the ruling, along with what Palace plan to do in response and how John Textor feels about the decision.
Lyon owner John Textor before Lyon vs PSG.
Photo by Xavier Laine/Getty Images
Crystal Palace ‘very angry’ over UEFA decision as CAS appeal on the cards
Solhekol discussed the news on Sky Sports News after it broke, and he reported that Palace are going to challenge the ruling.
He added that the Eagles are “very angry” about the decision, as they feel they earned the right to play in the competition.
In addition, Palace feel that John Textor – whose company Eagles Football Holdings has shares in Palace and owns Lyon and Botafogo – does not have decisive influence at Selhurst Park.
“First of all, I can tell you that Palace will be appealing to CAS,” Solhekol said.
“They are going to challenge this and are very angry about what UEFA have done – they feel they earned that place by right, by winning a trophy and beating Man City in the FA Cup final.
“They won a major competition. The prize for that is the trophy and a place in the Europa League. UEFA have decided to demote them.
“Lyon, who finished sixth in the French first division and have enormous debts, around €400m, they will play in the Europa League. While Palace, who have never broken any FFP rules, have been demoted.
“All along, Palace have been stressing he (Textor) does not have decisive influence at the club.”
🗣️ "Crystal Palace will be appealing, they are very angry"
Kaveh Solhekol explains how UEFA have come to the decision to demote Crystal Palace to the Conference League 🔴 🔵 pic.twitter.com/ii8niIyAcF
— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) July 11, 2025
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Nottingham Forest, who qualified for the Europa Conference League, are expected to be promoted to the Europa League, though this is yet to be officially confirmed.
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Why Crystal Palace missed ownership change deadline
Solhekol continued by saying Textor is feeling very frustrated over the decision.
The Palace shareholder decided to sell his stake in the club to another party, but UEFA’s rules say the ownership needs to be sorted by 1 March.
Solhekol said Palace missed the deadline for two reasons – the Eagles not expecting to reach the Europa League, and Textor’s lack of control at the club.
“Textor is so frustrated,” said Solhekol. “He has agreed to sell his stake in Palace to US businessman Woody Johnson for around £180million.
“UEFA are sticking to the letter of the law. Their rules say if one person or group have significant shares in two clubs in the same competition, that ownership needs to be sorted by the deadline of March 1.
“Palace and Textor missed that deadline. The reason they missed it was that they were not expecting to win the FA Cup.
“Textor also said he didn’t do it because he has no control at Palace.”