Crystal Palace supporters staged a protest outside Selhurst Park on Tuesday evening following Uefa’s ruling to demote the club from the Europa League to the Conference League.
Palace qualified for this season’s Europa League courtesy of their shock win over Manchester City in the FA Cup final in May, which secured a historic first major trophy.
But they missed a March 1 deadline to demonstrate that American co-owner John Textor, also a part-owner at Lyon, had no control or influence over more than one club in the same competition.
Uefa’s Club Financial Control Body (CFCB) decided Textor’s interest in both clubs meant only one could enter the Europa League, with Lyon’s higher league position edging out Palace.
Hundreds of supporters, marched from Norwood Clocktower to Palace’s stadium carrying banners, with one at the front declaring “UEFA: MORALLY BANKRUPT. REVOKE THE RULING NOW”.
The march, organised by Palace ultras Holmesdale Fanatics, had urged supporters of all teams to join the march, inviting “those who are disillusioned with the state of modern football, those who are tired of the authorities favouring a small cartel of larger clubs all in the name of profit, and those who want to bring football back to the fans, where it belongs”.
Holmesdale Fanatics said in a statement: “Uefa’s decision to demote Crystal Palace to the Conference League is a terrible injustice for both our club and the game of football as a whole.
“A team has won the oldest cup competition in the world, and with it, its first piece of silverware in the club’s history. A dream not unique to Palace fans but one shared by supporters of clubs across the country.
“To then have the deserved prize of Europa League football unjustifiably taken away is emblematic of a European football governing body disconnected from the true values that makes sport adored by fans everywhere. It s indicative of why so many fans have fallen out of love with the modern game.
“We must come together for our voice to be heard around Europe. This will not be an isolated action, but the beginning of a campaign against those responsible for the moral and financial corruption that has plagued the modern game. Let us remind Uefa and the CAS (Court of Arbitration for Sport) that this ruling can, and should, change.”
Palace are weighing up their options in response and admitted they could appeal Uefa’s verdict at the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
Textor has agreed to sell his shareholding in Palace to New York Jets owner Woody Johnson. He has also stepped down as Lyon president, but remains co-owner.
Nottingham Forest are expected to replace the Eagles in the Europa League after finishing seventh in the Premier League last season although this has not yet been confirmed by Uefa.
Palace chairman Steve Parish declared it “a bad day for football” and “a terrible injustice” after the club were demoted to the Conference League having fallen foul of Uefa’s rules on multi-club ownership.
A petition urging Uefa to reconsider and reinstate Palace back in the Europa League has been signed by more than 3,000 people since being created on Friday.
Additional reporting from PA
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