Why Crystal Palace Have Been Kicked Out of the Europa League

Crystal Palace’s Community Shield celebrations have been soured by news that the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has rejected their appeal to return to the Europa League.

The Eagles earned the right to compete in UEFA’s second-tier club competition in 2025–26, but have succumbed to multi-club ownership issues.

Oliver Glasner’s side are nonetheless competing in Europe for the very first time and, despite their demotion, the upcoming campaign is bound to be one of unprecedented continental excitement for Palace supporters.

Still, UEFA’s decision and the CAS ruling leave a bitter taste. Here’s why Palace have been booted out of the 2025–26 Europa League.

How Did Crystal Palace Qualify for the Europa League?

A woeful start to the 2024–25 Premier League season, off the back of Michael Olise’s departure to Bayern Munich, meant Palace stood little chance of qualifying for Europe via league position.

They alleviated fears of relegation by the end of the calendar year, and improved drastically in the second half of the season but only finished 12th.

However, Palace secured their spot in the Europa League by winning the FA Cup in May. Glasner’s side downed Aston Villa, who qualified for the competition via a sixth-place Premier League finish, in the semi-final before edging past Manchester City 1–0 in the final.

Why Are Crystal Palace Playing in the Conference League?

Crystal Palace fans made their feelings clear about Uefa with this protest 😳 pic.twitter.com/u7V6lEZjk3
— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) August 10, 2025

In short, Palace have been demoted to the Conference League, UEFA’s third-tier club competition, for breaching UEFA’s multi-club ownership (MCO) rules.

Former co-owner John Textor left the club at the end of June, but held shares in both Palace and Ligue 1 side Lyon at the time of UEFA’s assessment date—March 1. Any potential conflict of interest had to be sorted by this date, but Textor’s departure arrived well after the deadline. It’s understood that Palace missed several emails from UEFA reminding the club of their MCO rules.

They stipulate that clubs who share a controlling figure—Textor, in this case—cannot play in the same competition, and Lyon qualified for the Europa League by finishing sixth in Ligue 1. Palace seemed to be in the clear when the French club were relegated to Ligue 2 and kicked out of Europe as a result of their financial woes, but they were reinstated upon appeal.

Lyon’s superior league placing meant they took precedence over Palace, meaning they’ll move down a competition and will be replaced by Nottingham Forest in the Europa League.

The Eagles believed they had a strong case when they appealed to the CAS, citing inconsistencies regarding the multi-club ownership rules’ application, and Textor’s minimal influence despite his hefty share. Instead, the court upheld UEFA’s ruling.

As a result, Palace will take on either Norwegian side Fredrikstad or Danish outfit Midtjylland over two legs in the Conference League playoffs. Forest, meanwhile, are expected to join Villa in the Europa League league phase.