Crystal Palace have lost their appeal against demotion from the UEFA Europa League and will now compete in the UEFA Conference League this season.
The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) upheld UEFA’s decision, confirming Nottingham Forest’s promotion into Palace’s Europa League spot.
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The ruling comes just a day after the Eagles lifted the Community Shield, beating Liverpool on penalties at Wembley.
Crystal Palace earned Europa League qualification by winning last season’s FA Cup, but were sanctioned for breaching UEFA’s multi-club ownership rules.
Former shareholder John Textor, who held a 43% stake until June, also owns a controlling share in Lyon, another Europa League qualifier.
UEFA gave Crystal Palace until 1 March 2025 to restructure ownership, but the club missed the deadline. CAS found that Textor still had a major decisive influence over both clubs at the assessment date, dismissing Palace’s claims of unfair treatment compared to Nottingham Forest and Lyon.
UEFA regulations prohibit clubs with significant shared ownership from playing in the same European competition. Palace will now face either Norwegian side Fredrikstad or Denmark’s Midtjylland in the Conference League play-off round later this month.
