Crystal Palace’s dream of competing in the UEFA Europa League next season has ended after the Court of Arbitration for Sport dismissed their appeal on Monday.
The verdict confirms that the FA Cup and Community Shield holders will drop into the UEFA Conference League for the 2025/26 campaign.
Nottingham Forest, meanwhile, will take Palace’s Europa League slot.
UEFA had initially relegated Palace to the Conference League on July 11, ruling that as of March 1, American businessman John Textor held control or significant influence over both the London club and French side Lyon, a breach of the governing body’s multi-club ownership regulations.
CAS Ruling
A statement from CAS read, “The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has dismissed an appeal by Crystal Palace FC (CPFC) against UEFA, Nottingham Forest FC and Olympique Lyonnais (OL) concerning a decision by UEFA to remove CPFC from the UEFA Europa League 2025/2026 due to a breach of UEFA multi club ownership regulations.
“As a result, CPFC will be admitted to compete in the UEFA Conference League 2025/2026.
“The appeal sought to annul the decision by the UEFA Club Financial Control Body on 11 July 2025 which found CPFC and OL non-compliant with multi club ownership regulations.
“Alongside the annulment of the decision, CPFC requested readmission to the UEFA Europa League with Nottingham Forest or OL’s admission rejected.
“After considering the evidence, the Panel found that John Textor, founder of Eagle Football Holdings, had shares in CPFC 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 the argument by CPFC that they received unfair treatment in comparison to Nottingham Forest and OL. The Panel considered that the UEFA Regulations are clear and do not provide flexibility to clubs that are non-compliant on the assessment date, as CPFC claimed.
“This was an expedited procedure, with an operative decision rendered two and a half weeks after the appeal, filed on 21 July 2025. Unless Parties request confidentiality, a full Award (with grounds) will be made available on the CAS website in due course.”
The ruling draws a firm line under Palace’s European aspirations for the season, securing Nottingham Forest’s return to continental football at Europa League level.
