Crystal Palace have officially appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport after being kicked out of the Europa League and dropped to the Conference League.
The appeal is aimed at UEFA, who issued the punishment, as well as French club Lyon and Premier League side Nottingham Forest.
The issue comes down to multi-club ownership rules. American businessman John Textor owns a stake in Palace and is also the majority owner of Lyon. Both clubs had qualified for the Europa League, which breaches UEFA’s rules that prevent two clubs with shared ownership from playing in the same European competition.
Because of the ruling, Nottingham Forest – who finished seventh in the Premier League – are in line to take Palace’s spot in the Europa League, since Palace had qualified through their FA Cup run.
Palace are fighting to overturn the decision. They’ve asked CAS to throw out UEFA’s ruling and reinstate them into the Europa League, instead of Forest or Lyon.
A decision is expected by 11 August, ahead of the Europa League group stage starting on 24 September.
UEFA's regulations are clear: if the same person or entity has significant influence over two clubs, those clubs cannot compete in the same European tournament. Clubs had until 1 March 2025 to fix any conflicts, but Palace missed that deadline.
Palace’s argument is that Textor doesn’t have decisive control over their club. However, UEFA rejected that defense, ruling that his level of influence breached their ownership rules.
Now, it’s up to the Court of Arbitration for Sport to decide whether Palace will be allowed back into the Europa League – or if Forest will take their place.
