UEFA has demoted FA Cup champions Crystal Palace to the UEFA Europa Conference League, with Nottingham Forest expected to take their place in the Europa League, following a breach of UEFA’s multi-club ownership rules.
According to UEFA, Palace violated regulations that prohibit clubs with the same ownership or decisive influence from participating in the same European competition. The rule is intended to preserve the integrity of UEFA tournaments and prevent conflicts of interest when two clubs are linked through ownership.
The issue stems from John Textor, Crystal Palace’s largest shareholder, who also owns French club Olympique Lyonnais (Lyon). Textor was given until March 1 to resolve the conflict, but although he recently agreed to sell his Palace shares to U.S. billionaire Woody Johnson, the deal has not yet been finalized—and was deemed too late to comply with UEFA’s deadline.
While Lyon were initially expected to face similar sanctions, they successfully appealed against relegation from Ligue 1 and were subsequently cleared to compete in UEFA competitions.
Crystal Palace has confirmed it will appeal UEFA’s decision at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). A final decision is still pending, and CAS is expected to rule on the matter before the start of the competition.
In the meantime, Nottingham Forest are expected to take Crystal Palace’s Europa League spot, pending the outcome of the appeal.
