UEFA Demotes Crystal Palace to Conference League Over Ownership Breach; Nottingham Forest Set for Europa League Spot
UEFA has relegated Crystal Palace to the UEFA Conference League for breaching multi-club ownership rules due to links with French club Lyon. Nottingham Forest is now in line to take their Europa League place, pending an appeal by Palace at the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
Enet
UEFA has demoted FA Cup winners Crystal Palace to the UEFA Conference League over a breach of its multi-club ownership rules, paving the way for Nottingham Forest to potentially take their spot in the UEFA Europa League—pending a final verdict from the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).
The decision stems from UEFA’s findings that Crystal Palace violated regulations barring clubs under shared ownership or significant influence from competing in the same European competition. The conflict arose due to Palace’s majority shareholder, John Textor, also holding a controlling interest in French club Lyon.
Textor was given a March 1 deadline to resolve the ownership conflict. Although he recently agreed to sell his stake in Crystal Palace to U.S. billionaire Woody Johnson, UEFA ruled that the move came too late to meet its compliance requirements.
Meanwhile, Lyon escaped similar sanctions after winning an appeal against their Ligue 1 relegation, which enabled them to participate in European tournaments this season.
Crystal Palace has announced plans to challenge UEFA’s decision at CAS in hopes of reclaiming their Europa League place.
