Crystal Palace chairman, Steve Parish, has confirmed the club will challenge UEFA’s decision to demote them from the Europa League, taking their case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
Palace had earned a historic place in European football by defeating Manchester City in the FA Cup final back in May, their first major trophy win.
However, UEFA ruled that the club must instead compete in the Europa Conference League due to a conflict of interest involving former director John Textor, who is also a co-owner of French club Olympique Lyonnais.
Though Textor officially cut ties with Palace at the beginning of July, UEFA’s decision hinges on his involvement at the time the club secured European qualification.
The rules forbid any individual from having a controlling interest in more than one club competing in the same UEFA competition during the same season.
As a result of this ruling, Nottingham Forest, who finished seventh in the Premier League, would be promoted to the Europa League in Palace’s place.
But Parish remains determined to overturn the decision.
“We are still fighting,” Parish stated on The Rest is Football podcast. “There’s an appeal process, so we go to CAS which is the court for arbitration and, you know, we’re very hopeful. We think we’ve got great legal arguments.”
He added, “We don’t think this is the right decision by any means. We know unequivocally that John didn’t have decisive influence over the club. We know we proved that beyond all reasonable doubt because it’s a fact.”
Palace have argued all along that Textor’s role was not sufficiently controlling to breach UEFA’s multi-club ownership rules.
However, UEFA insists the key deadline for restructuring ownership or divesting shares was March 1, a date by which Textor was still involved.
As the appeal process unfolds, Palace remain hopeful that CAS will rule in their favour, restoring their rightful place in the Europa League.
