Crystal Palace’s attempt to overturn its demotion to the third-tier UEFA Conference League was rejected by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) on Monday. The ruling upheld UEFA’s decision to relegate Palace from the more lucrative second-tier Europa League due to violations of club ownership rules involving American investor John Textor.
The case also involved Premier League rival Nottingham Forest and French club Lyon. While Forest and Lyon secured their places directly in the Europa League for the upcoming season, Palace must now enter the Conference League qualifying playoffs starting next week.
UEFA’s demotion of Palace was based on Textor holding a 43% ownership stake in both Palace and Lyon last season, which breaches UEFA’s regulations on club ownership conflicts. Palace failed to meet a March deadline set by UEFA to resolve this issue.
CAS confirmed that Textor “was a board member with decisive influence over both clubs at the time of UEFA’s assessment date,” solidifying the grounds for Palace’s demotion under UEFA rules.
This ruling highlights UEFA’s strict enforcement of ownership regulations designed to preserve the integrity and fairness of European club competitions.
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IMAGE: Reuters
