Crystal Palace Loses Appeal, Nottingham Forest to Enter Europa League

Crystal Palace’s appeal against UEFA’s choice to relegate them from the Europa League to the third-tier Conference League has been denied.

Following the ruling from the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), Nottingham Forest, who concluded last season in seventh place in the Premier League, will now participate in the Europa League instead of Crystal Palace.

The ruling was issued just a day after Palace defeated Liverpool to secure the Community Shield at Wembley.

UEFA demoted Crystal Palace, a Premier League team, to the Conference League as a result of a multi-club ownership issue. However, Olympique Lyonnais was permitted to compete in the Europa League because, at the time, the Eagle Football Group owned a majority stake in Lyon, and their chairman, John Textor, also held a controlling interest in Palace.

“After reviewing the evidence, the panel determined that John Textor, the founder of Eagle Football Holdings, possessed shares in both CPFC and OL and held a position on the board with significant influence over both clubs during UEFA’s assessment,” CAS stated.

“The panel also rejected CPFC’s claim that they were treated unfairly compared to Nottingham Forest and OL.”

Palace, who earned a spot in the Europa League by winning the FA Cup, has not yet provided a response to the request for comment.

Just days before Robert Wood ‘Woody’ Johnson, the co-owner of the New York Jets, finalized the acquisition of Textor-founded Eagle Football Holdings’ ownership in Palace, they challenged UEFA’s judgment last month.

Following Textor’s resignation, Michele Kang was named chairwoman and president of Lyon’s board of directors.

The French team was permitted to keep its spot because of its superior standing in its respective league because both Lyon and Palace were qualified to compete in the Europa League.

Lyon placed sixth in Ligue 1, while Palace came in at number 12 in the Premier League.

Olympique Lyonnais stated in a statement that it appreciates the Court of Arbitration for Sport’s decision today confirming its involvement in the Europa League.

Palace will participate in the Conference League qualifying playoff round later this month.