This ruling comes just one day after Palace celebrated a dramatic Community Shield victory over Liverpool on penalties at Wembley.
Palace had earned Europa League qualification by winning the FA Cup last season. However, UEFA ruled them ineligible due to violations of its multi-club ownership rules. At the time of UEFA’s compliance review, American businessman John Textor — who held a 43% stake in Palace — also had controlling interest in French club Lyon, another Europa League qualifier.
Despite Textor selling his Palace shares in June and stepping down from Lyon’s board later that month, UEFA said the changes came too late. Palace missed the official restructuring deadline of March 1, 2025.
In July, Palace appealed the decision to CAS, challenging UEFA’s ruling along with Lyon and Nottingham Forest. But CAS upheld UEFA’s stance, saying the rules were clear and left no room for flexibility — particularly when a club still had overlapping control at the time of assessment. Palace’s argument that Textor had no decisive influence over the club was rejected.
As a result, Palace are now set to face either Fredrikstad (Norway) or Midtjylland (Denmark) in the Conference League play-offs later this month.
How Did It All Unfold?
- 17 May: Palace beat Manchester City in the FA Cup final, securing a Europa League place.
- 10 June: Nottingham Forest raise concerns to UEFA over Palace’s eligibility.
- 23 June: Textor sells his 43% Palace stake to New York Jets owner Woody Johnson.
- 30 June: Textor resigns from Lyon’s board.
- 11 July: UEFA announces Palace will be moved to the Conference League.
- 22 July: Palace submit an appeal to CAS.
- 8 August: CAS hears the appeal and ultimately rejects it.
Why Didn’t Nottingham Forest Face the Same Issue?
UEFA’s rules are strict when it comes to multi-club ownership, aiming to prevent any conflict of interest or collusion between clubs in the same competition. Nottingham Forest’s owner, Evangelos Marinakis, also owns Greek side Olympiakos, but he officially reduced his control of Forest earlier in the year — a move that was enough to satisfy UEFA's requirements.
John Textor made similar efforts to restructure his ownership in time, but UEFA ruled that decisive influence was still present when it mattered most — during their official compliance check.
What Does This Mean for Palace?
Financially, the drop from the Europa League to the Conference League could cost Palace around £20 million — a significant figure for a club of their size. Beyond the financial hit, there’s the impact on their transfer plans and the ability to keep key players.
With less European prestige to offer, Palace may struggle to hold onto stars like Marc Guehi and Eberechi Eze. Guehi, whose contract expires in less than a year, is reportedly attracting serious interest from Liverpool. Meanwhile, Eze is being monitored by Arsenal and Tottenham.
The club remains frustrated by the outcome, believing they’ve been treated unfairly, especially after working to resolve the ownership issue. But as things stand, they’ll be chasing silverware in the Conference League instead of Europe’s second-tier competition.
