Crystal Palaceâs fight to reclaim their Europa League place has taken a dramatic turn both in courtrooms and on the streets of Switzerland. After UEFA ruled that Palace must drop to the Conference League due to multi-club ownership conflictsâ"John Textorâs Eagle Football Holdings holds stakes in both Palace and Lyonâ"the club has formally appealed the decision to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), with a ruling expected by August 11, according to The Times.
At the heart of Palaceâs frustration is the timing. Textor agreed to sell his shares in Palace to US billionaire Woody Johnson for £160 million, but the deal came too late to meet UEFAâs March 1 ownership deadline. Simultaneously, Lyon successfully overturned a domestic relegation ruling, which brought them back into European contention. As a result, UEFA gave the Europa League spot to Lyonâ"despite Palaceâs FA Cup triumph.
Palace, however, believe the process has been flawed and inconsistently applied. A key part of their case highlights how Nottingham Forestâs owner, Evangelos Marinakis, also controls Olympiacos, yet did not formally step back from Forest until after UEFAâs cutoff. Still, Forest were awarded Palaceâs Europa League place in a further reshuffle.
While the club wages its legal battle, a band of ultras from the Holmesdale Fanatics staged a stunt at UEFAâs headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland. They waved a banner accusing UEFA of being âmorally bankrupt,â carried a letter to UEFA president Aleksander Äeferin, and theatrically wielded a briefcase stuffed with fake cashâ"casting UEFAâs decision as one of greed and inconsistency. Security quickly intervened, but the image was already viral: a vivid symbol of fansâ rage at perceived institutional injustice.
The appeal, if successful, would result in either Lyon or Nottingham Forest being ejected from the competition. Palace argue that their late ownership restructuring should not have cost them a place in the Europa League, especially given the circumstances surrounding Forest and Lyon. The club insists they remain compliant with the spirit, if not the rigid technicalities, of UEFAâs rules.
Ultimately, Palaceâs appeal is not only a test of UEFAâs multi-club ownership enforcementâ"itâs also a statement about fairness, transparency, and how footballâs regulatory frameworks deal with complex ownership webs. The ruling, due on August 11, could ripple far beyond South London, influencing future European eligibility rulings across the continent.
One thing is certain: Crystal Palace aren’t going quietly, after winning their first-ever major trophy. Their battle may be bureaucratic in setting this time, but in tone and passion, itâs nothing short of a protest against what they see as footballâs elite structures turning a blind eye to nuance and equity. Whether the court agrees remains to be seen.