Crystal Palace chairman Steve Parish has confirmed that the club will appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) after being demoted from the UEFA Europa League due to an ownership conflict.
Palace earned a surprise qualification for the Europa League after defeating Manchester City in the FA Cup final in May, securing their first major trophy and a historic European debut. However, UEFA has ruled that the club must instead compete in the Europa Conference League because of a conflict of interest involving former director John Textor, who also has ownership ties to French club Lyon.
Although Textor officially stepped away from Palace at the start of July, UEFA’s decision is based on his involvement at the end of last season, when Palace secured their European spot. Under UEFA regulations, individuals or entities cannot have control or significant influence over more than one club participating in the same European competition during the same season.
If the ruling stands, Nottingham Forest—who finished seventh in the Premier League—would take Palace’s place in the Europa League.
Parish voiced his disagreement with the ruling and expressed confidence in Palace’s appeal. Speaking on The Rest is Football podcast, he said, “We are still fighting. There’s an appeal process, so we go to CAS—the Court of Arbitration for Sport—and we’re very hopeful. We think we’ve got great legal arguments.
“We don’t believe this is the correct decision by any means. We know unequivocally that John didn’t have decisive influence over the club. We’ve proven that beyond all reasonable doubt—because it’s a fact.”
UEFA’s rules state that any shareholder needing to alter their ownership structure to comply must have done so by March 1. Palace maintains that Textor did not possess a controlling role sufficient to breach those regulations.
The outcome of the appeal could have major implications for Palace’s European ambitions—and for the final lineup of next season’s UEFA competitions.
