Crystal Palace Lose Europa League Appeal, Premier League Rivals to Take Spot

Crystal Palace have had their Europa League ban upheld by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), ensuring that Nottingham Forest will take their place in the European competition while the Eagles drop down to the Conference League.

As FA Cup winners in May, Palace automatically qualified for the Europa League given their 12th-placed Premier League finish did not entitle them to any continental football. However, UEFA announced in July that the south London outfit would be unable to participate due to a perceived breach of multi-club ownership rules.

At the time of their Wembley triumph, Palace’s majority shareholder was John Textor, who also owned Lyon. The French outfit had also qualified for the 2025–26 Europa League campaign by finishing sixth in Ligue 1. UEFA regulations prohibit clubs operating in the same competition if there is a common party with decisive influence over both sides. As Lyon qualified with a higher league position than Palace, they were granted entry to the competition while the Eagles dropped down a tier.

Textor denied having an impact at Palace and his 43% stake in the club was sold to New York Jets owner Woody Johnson in June, before UEFA’s initial ruling. It was too late.

The deadline for Palace to prove that there was no conflict of interests with Lyon was March 1, 2025. UEFA had tried to inform the club of this fact by repeatedly emailing them from January onwards yet, as club chairman Steve Parish openly admitted, “nobody saw it” because it was sent to the club’s publicly listed address rather than any individual’s private account.

CAS explained that they upheld UEFA’s ruling because “regulations are clear and do not provide flexibility to clubs that are non-compliant on the assessment date, as Palace claimed”. The report added: “Textor still had decisive influence over both clubs at the time of UEFA’s assessment date.”

Nottingham Forest are the immediate beneficiaries of this ruling. By virtue of their seventh-placed Premier League finish last season, they have filled Palace’s vacant spot in the Europa League.