The Court of Arbitration for Sport has dismissed Crystal Palace's appeal against their demotion from the Europa League to the Conference League, according to nottinghampost.com. This decision confirms that Nottingham Forest will take Palace's place in next season's Europa League following their seventh-place Premier League finish.
Palace were demoted after the UEFA Club Financial Control Body found on 11th July 2025 that they had breached multi-club ownership regulations due to John Textor's "decisive influence" over both Crystal Palace and Lyon, as nottinghampost.com reports. The CAS panel confirmed that Textor, founder of Eagle Football Holdings, held shares in both clubs and served as a board member with decisive control at UEFA's assessment date.
Appeal process rejected
The CAS hearing took place on 8th August 2025 at their headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland, according to nottinghampost.com. Palace had filed their appeal on 21st July 2025, seeking to annul UEFA's decision and requesting either their readmission to the Europa League or rejection of Forest's promotion.
The three-person CAS panel was composed of Prof. Luigi Fumagalli as president from Italy, Mr Manfred P. Nan from the Netherlands, and Mr Olivier Carrard from Switzerland, as nottinghampost.com reports. The panel specifically dismissed Palace's argument that they received unfair treatment compared to Forest and Lyon.
The CAS panel emphasised that UEFA regulations are clear and do not provide flexibility for clubs that are non-compliant on the assessment date, according to nottinghampost.com. Palace's claims for regulatory flexibility were rejected by the arbitration court in this expedited procedure.
Fan protests and financial timing
Crystal Palace supporters organised sophisticated protests including delivering fake money to UEFA headquarters in Switzerland, according to independent sources. The demonstrations highlighted organised resistance to what fans viewed as regulatory injustice against their club.
John Textor's £200m sale of his 42.9% Palace stake to Woody Johnson came too late to satisfy UEFA's 1st March deadline, as independent sources report. This timing issue proved crucial in UEFA's decision-making process regarding the multi-club ownership violations.
The decision represents a significant boost for Forest's European ambitions and marks their return to continental competition at the City Ground for the first time in three decades. For Palace, it means competing in the Conference League despite their FA Cup success that originally secured European qualification.
Sources used: "nottinghampost.com", "independent sources"
Note: This article has been edited with the help of Artificial Intelligence.
