Crystal Palace lose appeal against UEFA’s decision to demote club from Europa League

August 11, 2025 / Kim browne /

Crystal Palace will not play in the Europa League this season after losing their appeal against UEFA’s decision to drop them down to the Conference League.

The ruling by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) was delivered on Monday.

CAS ruled against the Premier League club in its appeal of UEFA’s decision to drop them down from the Europa League – European football’s second competition – to the Conference League – its third competition – for allegedly not complying with the governing body’s multi-club ownership rules.

Palace, who beat Liverpool to win the Community Shield on Sunday, qualified for the Europa League by winning the FA Cup in May.

They lost their place because their former shareholder John Textor, who was the majority owner of French club Lyon, did not put his Palace shares in a blind trust by the 1 March deadline.

Palace were placed in the Conference League by UEFA last month, as under its competition rules, clubs with the same owner(s) are forbidden from playing each other in the same tournament.

As both Lyon and Palace had qualified for the Europa League, the French club were allowed to keep their place as they had finished higher in their respective leagues.

Lyon finished sixth in Ligue 1 while Palace were 12th in the Premier League.

Timeline of how Palace lost their Europa League place

1 March: UEFA’s deadline passes for clubs in multi-club groups to change their ownership structure, with John Textor failing to place his Palace shares in a blind trust to avoid possible sanction.
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17 May: Crystal Palace win the FA Cup by beating Manchester City 1-0, thereby qualifying for the Europa League.

17 May: On the same day, Lyon qualify for the Europa League by finishing sixth in Ligue 1, but could be punished by UEFA for failing to meet spending rules.

3 June: Palace chairman Steve Parish and John Textor meet UEFA to discuss whether they are allowed to play in Europe next season.

25 June: Lyon are relegated from Ligue 1 after failing to convince authorities they have resolved their financial difficulties but the French club immediately say they will appeal the decision.

9 July: Lyon’s appeal is upheld, meaning they are reinstated to Ligue 1 and restored to the Europa League, casting doubt over Palace’s place.

11 July: UEFA says Palace will be demoted to the Conference League and the club says it will appeal.

8 August: Palace’s appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport begins in Lausanne, exactly one week before the start of the new Premier League season.

11 August: CAS upholds UEFA’s original decision to demote Palace from the Europa League, meaning they will play in the Conference League.

CAS said in a statement that Mr Textor “had shares in CPFC (Crystal Palace) and OL (Olympique Lyonnais/Lyon) 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.”

Nottingham Forest, who reported Palace to UEFA earlier this year for not complying with the multi-club ownership rules, are expected to take their place in the Europa League after finishing seventh in England’s top division.

Their owner, Evangelos Marinakis, had earlier removed himself from control of Nottingham Forest, putting his shares into a blind trust when it looked like Forest would qualify for the Champions League alongside Olympiakos, also owned by the Greek billionaire.

Palace chairman and co-owner Steve Parish attended a 10-hour hearing in front of three CAS judges in Lausanne on Friday.

He confirmed that Palace would play in the Conference League if the decision went against them.

But, speaking after Sunday’s win, he said his team would look for any alternative solutions should the verdict not go their way.

They are set to make their debut later this month in the qualifying playoff round, taking on the losers of the Europa League qualifier between Norway’s Fredrikstad and Denmark’s Midtjylland in a two-legged tie.

Three days later, they face Forest in the Premier League – in what will be their first league home game of the season.

Mr Textor has now sold his stake in Palace, with the purchase of his shares by New York Jets owner Woody Johnson completed in late July.

UEFA declined to comment on the CAS panel’s decision, while Palace did not make any immediate comment.

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