CAS rejects Crystal Palace’s UEFA appeal
English Premier League football club Crystal Palace has lost an appeal against its demotion to UEFA’s third club competition, the Conference League.
UEFA decided in July to remove Palace, who won the FA Cup last season, from the more prestigious Europa League due to a breach of its rules on multi-club ownership.
The governing body ruled that the London club and French club Olympique Lyonnais (OL), who shared a shareholder, could not play in the same competition. Nottingham Forest were moved up to the Europa League as a result.
The London club then brought an appeal against UEFA, Nottingham Forest and OL at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).
‘Regulations clear’
that John Textor, founder of Eagle Football Holdings, had shares in Crystal Palace and OL and was a board member with decisive influence over both clubs at the time of UEFA’s assessment date.
The panel also dismissed Palace’s argument that they had received unfair treatment in comparison to Nottingham Forest and OL.
“UEFA regulations are clear and do not provide flexibility to clubs that are non-compliant on the assessment date, as CPFC claimed,” CAS stated.
Earlier this summer, FAI Cup winners Drogheda United and Slovak club Dunajska Streda also fell foul of ownership regulations and were excluded from the Conference League.