Crystal Palace have lost their European battle with UEFA – and will play in the Conference League this season.
The Eagles were demoted from the Europa League earlier this summer, when UEFA ruled that they had breached their rules on multi-club ownership.
Outraged Palace officials appealed the decision in a gruelling, 10-hour session at the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne on Friday.
CAS lawyers had promised to hand down a verdict by close of play on Monday. And they have subsequently sided with the governing body, in what will be a devastating blow to the FA Cup winners and their fans and a decision that could cost Palace up to £20m in lost revenue. It is also likely to be welcomed at the City Ground, with the verdict confirmation that Nottingham Forest will take Palace’s place.
The Eagles had attempted to have their demotion overturned at the expense of either Forest or Lyon.
They were dropped into the third tier competition after a UEFA panel found that US businessman John Textor, whose Eagles Holdings company held a 43 per cent stake in the club, was in a position of influence at Selhurst Park. His firm also owned French outfit Lyon, which qualified for the same competition. Lyon took priority, with only one MCO club allowed in, because they finished higher in their domestic league than FA Cup winners Palace.
Textor, who subsequently sold his stake in Palace, was not present at the hearing.
Both Forest and Lyon also had legal representatives at CAS.
Palace argued that while Textor’s firm held a 43 per cent stake in the club, it only afforded him 25 per cent of the voting rights and that chairman Steve Parish, along with silent partners Josh Harris and David Blitzer, called the shots with their 75 per cent. As such, they said, Textor had no influence at Selhurst Park.
They also claimed that double standards were in play, stating that sides in the European Club Association (ECA) were told that those with potential MCO issues could go beyond UEFA’s March 1 deadline to submit their paperwork.
A swipe was also taken at Forest, with Palace claiming they did not act to navigate the rules when it looked like they may qualify for the Champions League along with Olympiakos, who are also owned by Evangelos Marinakis, until April 29.
Palace said the only communication they had from UEFA was in an email to the club’s generic address.
However, they faced an uphill battle. In June, CAS upheld UEFA’s decision to remove Irish side Drogheda United from the Conference League due to non-compliance with MCO rules.
Drogheda, owned by the same group that controls fellow qualifiers Silkeborg IF, argued that the March 1 deadline had not been communicated properly by UEFA. However, in what appeared to be a precedent, CAS rejected the claim, along with a further allegation of unequal treatment.
In a statement explaining their decision, CAS said on Monday: ‘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.’
