Crystal Palace have lost their appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (Cas) against a Uefa ruling that demoted them from the Europa League to the Conference League for the 2025–26 season. The decision confirms Nottingham Forest’s promotion to the Europa League in Palace’s place.
Palace secured Europa League qualification after winning the FA Cup in May, but Uefa ruled the club ineligible for the competition due to multi-club ownership rules. At the time of Uefa’s assessment deadline on 1 March 2025, American businessman John Textor still held a 43% stake in Palace and was the majority owner of Lyon, who also qualified for the Europa League.
Despite Textor selling his stake in Palace to New York Jets owner Woody Johnson in June, Uefa determined that he retained decisive influence over both clubs at the key assessment date. Cas upheld Uefa’s ruling, stating that the regulations allow no flexibility for clubs that fail to comply by the specified date.
Palace’s appeal also named Lyon and Nottingham Forest, arguing that the latter received favourable treatment. Cas rejected this claim, noting that Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis had diluted his control of the club to comply with Uefa regulations, which prohibit an individual or entity from influencing more than one club in the same European competition.
The decision comes a day after Palace defeated Liverpool on penalties to win the Community Shield. The club will now play either Fredrikstad of Norway or Midtjylland of Denmark in the Conference League play-off round later this month.
