Crystal Palace have lost their European battle with UEFA – and will play in the Conference League this season.
The Eagles were demoted from the Europa League earlier this summer, when UEFA ruled that they had breached their rules on multi-club ownership.
Outraged Palace officials appealed the decision in a gruelling, 10-hour session at the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne on Friday.
CAS lawyers had pledged to deliver a verdict by the end of Monday, and they have since aligned with the governing body. This decision is a major disappointment for the FA Cup winners and their supporters, potentially resulting in a £20m loss in revenue for Palace. The decision is likely to be met with approval at the City Ground, as Nottingham Forest is set to replace Palace.
The Eagles had attempted to have their demotion overturned at the expense of either Forest or Lyon.
The club was demoted to the third-tier competition after a UEFA panel concluded that US businessman John Textor, whose Eagles Holdings firm held a 43 percent ownership in the club, had significant influence at Selhurst Park. This influence was problematic as Textor’s company also owned French team Lyon, which qualified for the same competition and took precedence. Only one MCO club is allowed to participate, and Lyon was prioritized due to its higher finish in its local league compared to FA Cup winners Palace.
Crystal Palace have lost their appeal and will be playing in the Conference League this season
The Eagles qualified for the Europa League by winning the FA Cup but have been demoted due to multi-club ownership rules
Palace and chairman Steve Parish argued John Textor, right, had no influence at Selhurst Park
Nottingham Forest will take Crystal Palace’s place in the Europa League this season
Textor, who subsequently sold his stake in Palace, was not present at the hearing.
Both Forest and Lyon also had legal representatives at CAS.
Palace contended that even though Textor’s firm had a 43 percent stake, he only had 25 percent of the voting rights. They argued that chairman Steve Parish and silent partners Josh Harris and David Blitzer held the real power with their combined 75 percent. They claimed that Textor had no actual influence over Selhurst Park.
The club also alleged double standards, pointing out that members of the European Club Association (ECA) were informed that those facing potential MCO issues could extend beyond UEFA’s March 1 deadline for paperwork submission.
Palace criticized Forest as well, stating that they failed to adjust for the regulations when a Champions League qualification seemed likely alongside Olympiakos, another team owned by Evangelos Marinakis, until April 29.
Palace said the only communication they had from UEFA was in an email to the club’s generic address.
However, the odds were stacked against them. In June, CAS supported UEFA’s decision to exclude Irish club Drogheda United from the Conference League due to MCO rule violations.
Drogheda, owned by the same group that controls fellow qualifiers Silkeborg IF, argued that the March 1 deadline had not been communicated properly by UEFA. However, in what appeared to be a precedent, CAS rejected the claim, along with a further allegation of unequal treatment.
In a statement explaining their decision, CAS said on Monday: ‘The Panel found that John Textor, founder of Eagle Football Holdings, had shares in CPFC and OL and was a Board member with decisive influence over both clubs at the time of UEFA’s assessment date.
‘The Panel also dismissed the argument by CPFC that they received unfair treatment in comparison to Nottingham Forest and OL.
‘The Panel considered that the UEFA Regulations are clear and do not provide flexibility to clubs that are non-compliant on the assessment date, as CPFC claimed.’
