Crystal Palace are set to discover which European competition they will be playing in this season after an appeal against their relegation to the Conference League
Crystal Palace celebrating their FA Cup win
Crystal Palace celebrating their FA Cup win(Image: AP)
Back in May, Crystal Palace were celebrating an FA Cup win and the Europa League football that usually brings. Things soon became a bit more complicated, though, and the Eagles are now waiting to see if they really will be playing in the European competition.
The issue at hand concerns multi-club ownership rules. Specifically, shareholder John Textor held interests in both Palace and Lyon at the time the two teams qualified for Europe. When that happens, the team with the higher league finish goes into the higher European qualification.
Lyon were sixth in France and Palace were 12th in the Premier League, so the English side were bumped down to the Conference League - with the rules in place to avoid conflicts of interest. Palace will play either Fredrikstad or FC Midtjylland for a place in the competition's league phase - as things stand.
“It is a bad day for football," Palace chairman Steve Parish said after his side were bumped down to the Conference League. "Most right-minded football fans will see what a terrible injustice this is for the football club and one that I hope someone can remedy because I do believe that nobody in football wants to see this, I don't think UEFA want to see it."
Palace have appealed the ruling, though, with their case going before the Court of Arbitration for Sport today. They are presenting evidence to CAS to support their case, and Mirror Football has taken a closer look at some of their key arguments.
The missed deadline
One key area is the March 1 deadline, by which point teams at risk of breaching multi-club ownership rules were expected to resolve the situation. Palace missed that deadline, but are expected to put the case to CAS that the deadline wasn’t set in stone, with other clubs understanding they had until the end of May to iron out any kinks.
At the start of March, Palace weren’t in any danger of qualifying for Europe through their league position and were preparing to face Millwall in the fifth round of the FA Cup. A first FA Cup win in the club’s history wasn’t a going concern at the time, but would obviously become a bigger focus further down the line.
Crystal Palace vs Millwall in the 2024-25 FA Cup
Palace took on Millwall on the day of the March 1 deadline
“We are obviously devastated, most importantly for the supporters, supporters of all clubs should be devastated for it," Parish said. “This means something, you win a cup for the first time in your history and it's like winning the lottery and going to the counter and not getting the prize."
The absent memo
Nottingham Forest, who will take Palace’s Europa League spot as things stand, also had to deal with multi-club ownership concerns. They solved this by owner Evangelos Marinakis - who also has an interest in Greek side Olympiacos - placing his shares in a blind trust.
This is something other individuals associated with multiple clubs have also done, and Palace are set to argue the blind trust approach came after a memo from the European Club Association. The Eagles aren’t members of the ECA, an independent body representing hundreds of clubs, and therefore didn’t get the memo - whereas Forest, among others did.
Nottingham Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis in 2025
Nottingham Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis placed his shares in a blind trust
Other clubs with owners in common have been able to play in the same European competition in the past. Manchester City and Girona were both in last season's Champions League, while Manchester United and OGC Nice could have faced one another in the Europa League.
The Lyon time frame
There was a period where none of this might have mattered. Lyon were provisionally relegated to Ligue 2 amid financial issues, leaving them at risk of missing out on Europe altogether.
They were also allowed to continue playing in the Europa League after a provisional relegation decision last November. If the latest relegation had been upheld, Palace were set to remain in the Europa League, but the French club were allowed back into Ligue 1 after winning an appeal.
Lyon playing against Manchester United in the 12024-25 Europa League
Lyon playing against Manchester United in last season's Europa League
Palace may point to that time frame to argue UEFA’s deadlines aren’t always rigid - at least where other clubs are concerned. They are also expected to argue they were never part of a multi-club model, never sharing expertise, resources and data with Textor's other clubs.
Indeed, Textor has now sold his stake in Palace. Woody Johnson, the billionaire owner of the New York Jets, bought it for £190million back in June.
What comes next?
Crystal Palace fans protesting UEFA's decision
Crystal Palace fans protesting UEFA's decision(Image: Getty Images)
Palace are putting their arguments to the CAS today, with the hearing expected to be a short one. A panel of three will assess the evidence before coming to a conclusion.
Palace are expected to learn the results no later than Monday. That comes 10 days before the Conference League play-offs, with Forest dropping back into that competition if the Eagles win their appeal.
Once all of this is resolved, both teams may well step up their summer transfer business with the knowledge of their European plans for the coming campaign. The draw for the Europa League and Conference League proper is scheduled for August 29, by which point the new league season will be very much up and running.
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