Crystal Palace’s fairytale summer has taken a bitter twist after the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) confirmed that the club will play in next season’s Europa Conference League — not the Europa League — following a failed appeal against UEFA’s decision to demote them.
Just months ago, Selhurst Park was awash with joy as Palace stunned Manchester City in the FA Cup final, lifting the club’s first-ever major trophy. That triumph earned them a place in the Europa League and was followed by another high point — victory in the Community Shield. But in July, UEFA ruled that the Eagles would instead have to compete in Europe’s third-tier competition, citing a breach of its strict multi-club ownership rules.
At the heart of the matter was American businessman John Textor, founder of Eagle Football Holdings, who at the time held significant shares in both Crystal Palace and French side Lyon — two clubs that had both qualified for the Europa League. UEFA’s regulations state that no individual may exercise “control or decisive influence” over more than one club in the same competition. Palace missed the 1 March deadline to prove compliance, a lapse that would prove fatal to their case.
In its ruling, CAS said it was satisfied that Textor had “decisive influence” over both clubs at the assessment date. “After considering the evidence, the Panel found that John Textor… was a board member with decisive influence over both clubs at the time of UEFA’s assessment date,” the statement read. The panel also rejected Palace’s claim that they were treated unfairly compared with Nottingham Forest and Lyon, noting that “UEFA Regulations are clear and do not provide flexibility to clubs that are non-compliant on the assessment date.”
The consequences have been immediate: Nottingham Forest, who finished seventh in the Premier League, will now take Palace’s Europa League spot. Lyon’s higher league finish in France ensured they were prioritised under UEFA’s rules.
In a last-ditch attempt to salvage their Europa League dream, Textor sold his 42.9 per cent stake in Palace to Woody Johnson, owner of the NFL’s New York Jets, in a deal reportedly worth close to £200 million. The sale, completed last month, came too late to influence UEFA’s decision.
The demotion has sparked anger among Palace fans, with the club’s ultras group, the Holmesdale Fanatics, leading a series of high-profile protests. Ahead of the Community Shield, supporters displayed banners and chanted against UEFA’s decision. The group’s discontent did not stop there — they took their message directly to the heart of European football.
Travelling to UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland, the Holmesdale Fanatics delivered a suitcase filled with fake money. The stunt, they said, symbolised “the contradictions between UEFA’s supposed ‘fundamental values’ of integrity and fairness, and the reality of their business methods and general conduct.”
Not content with stopping in Nyon, the fans went on to Lausanne, home of CAS, arriving just hours before Palace’s appeal hearing. “We weren’t just going to sit quietly and accept this,” one protester told reporters. “Our club earned its place in the Europa League on the pitch. The rules may be the rules, but they should be applied with fairness and common sense.”
Despite the passionate demonstrations, CAS upheld UEFA’s original ruling, citing the club’s inability to meet the compliance deadline and the clear regulatory framework in place. For Palace, the decision marks an abrupt shift from celebration to frustration.
Still, manager Oliver Glasner has vowed to turn the setback into an opportunity. Speaking after the CAS announcement, he said: “We are disappointed, of course, but we have to channel that energy into competing strongly in the Conference League. We want to give our fans more special nights in Europe, regardless of the competition’s name.”
For the supporters, the sting will take time to fade. The dream of Europa League football, earned through their historic FA Cup triumph, has been replaced with the reality of starting Thursday nights in the Conference League. But as the Holmesdale Fanatics have shown, Palace fans are not easily silenced — and their European adventure, while altered, is far from over.
