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Crystal Palace will compete in the Europa Conference League this season after losing their appeal against UEFA’s decision to demote them from the Europa League.
The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) on Monday upheld UEFA’s ruling, confirming Nottingham Forest’s promotion into Palace’s vacated Europa League spot.
The decision arrived less than 24 hours after Palace celebrated winning the Community Shield at Wembley, edging Liverpool on penalties.
Palace secured European qualification by lifting the FA Cup last season but were penalised for breaching UEFA’s multi-club ownership rules.
Until June, American investor John Textor held a 43% stake in the Eagles and is also the majority owner of French side Lyon, another club in this season’s Europa League.
UEFA regulations bar teams under the decisive influence of the same person or entity from playing in the same European competition. Palace were given until March 1, 2025, to prove compliance through an ownership restructuring, but missed the deadline.
In July, the club appealed to CAS, naming UEFA, Lyon, and Nottingham Forest in the case. However, the panel ruled: “Regulations are clear and do not provide flexibility to clubs that are non-compliant on the assessment date, as Palace claimed.”
The ruling also noted that “Textor still had decisive influence over both clubs at the time of UEFA’s assessment date” and dismissed Palace’s claims of being treated unfairly compared to Lyon and Forest.
With their Europa League dream over, Palace will face either Norway’s Fredrikstad or Denmark’s Midtjylland in the Europa Conference League play-off round later this month.
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