Crystal Palace will play in the Conference League this season after losing their appeal against their demotion from the Europa League at the Court of Arbitration for Sport [CAS].
Palace went to CAS after UEFA dropped them into the Conference League as punishment for breaching multi-club ownership rules relating to their former co-owner John Textor also owning a majority stake in Lyon.
Palace chairman Steve Parish has called the decision “one of the greatest injustices” in the history of European football.
The south London club appealed against that decision and felt they had a strong case.
Palace sought to prove they had been unfairly singled out, and that UEFA rules are not being applied consistently. They also argued that Textor was not a person of influence at Selhurst Park.
But CAS have ruled that Palace must go into a play-off round for the Conference League.
Nottingham Forest, who finished seventh in the Premier League last season, will play in the Europa League instead.
Announcing their verdict, CAS said they found that Textor “was a board member with decisive influence over both clubs [Palace and Lyon] at the time of UEFA’s assessment date”.
CAS also said they “dismissed the argument by CPFC that they received unfair treatment in comparison to Nottingham Forest and OL” and said: “UEFA regulations are clear and do not provide flexibility to clubs that are non-compliant on the assessment date.”
A statement from CAS said: “The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has dismissed an appeal by Crystal Palace FC (CPFC) against UEFA, Nottingham Forest FC and Olympique Lyonnais (OL) concerning a decision by UEFA to remove CPFC from the UEFA Europa League 2025/2026 due to a breach of UEFA multi club ownership regulations. As a result, CPFC will be admitted to compete in the UEFA Conference League 2025/2026.
“After considering the evidence, 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.”
Palace will play Norwegian side Fredrikstad or Danish side Midtjylland in the Conference League play-off round.
They will play the first leg of their tie at Selhurst Park on August 21 and the second leg a week later on August 28.
The winners of the play-off round will progress to the 36-team league phase of the competition.
