Crystal Palace’s 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 conflicts—John Textor’s Eagle Football Holdings holds stakes in both Palace and Lyon—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 Palace’s 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 UEFA’s 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 Lyon—despite Palace’s FA Cup triumph.
Palace, however, believe the process has been flawed and inconsistently applied. A key part of their case highlights how Nottingham Forest’s owner, Evangelos Marinakis, also controls Olympiacos, yet did not formally step back from Forest until after UEFA’s cutoff. Still, Forest were awarded Palace’s 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 UEFA’s headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland. They waved a banner accusing UEFA of being “morally bankrupt,” carried a letter to UEFA president Aleksander Čeferin, and theatrically wielded a briefcase stuffed with fake cash—casting UEFA’s decision as one of greed and inconsistency. Security quickly intervened, but the image was already viral: a vivid symbol of fans’ 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 UEFA’s rules.
Ultimately, Palace’s appeal is not only a test of UEFA’s multi-club ownership enforcement—it’s also a statement about fairness, transparency, and how football’s 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, it’s nothing short of a protest against what they see as football’s elite structures turning a blind eye to nuance and equity. Whether the court agrees remains to be seen.
Embed from Getty Images
