Crystal Palace have launched an official appeal with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) after being demoted from the Europa League to the Conference League due to a breach of UEFA’s multi-club ownership regulations.
The appeal is directed at UEFA – who issued the sanction – as well as French side Lyon and Premier League rivals Nottingham Forest.
The issue centres on American businessman John Textor, who holds a stake in Palace and is also the majority owner of Lyon, a club that has also qualified for next season’s Europa League.
Under UEFA’s rules, clubs with shared ownership, where one party is deemed to hold decisive influence, are prohibited from competing in the same European competition.
As it stands, Nottingham Forest, who finished seventh in the Premier League last season, are in line to take Palace’s Europa League place should the decision be upheld.
Palace, however, are pushing to have the punishment overturned and are asking CAS to annul UEFA’s ruling. They are also seeking reinstatement to the Europa League in place of either Forest or Lyon.
Crystal Palace have submitted an appeal with the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
The appeal is against Uefa, French club Lyon and Nottingham Forest. pic.twitter.com/yUiR9EfFIY
— Match of the Day (@BBCMOTD) July 22, 2025
UEFA’s Club Financial Control Body handed down the original sanction after ruling that Palace failed to restructure ownership in time.
The deadline to provide evidence of compliance with UEFA’s ownership rules was 1 March 2025, something the South London club failed to meet. While Palace argued that Textor does not hold “decisive influence” over their operations, UEFA rejected this claim.
In comments made on the The Rest is Football podcast last week, Crystal Palace chairman Steve Parish expressed confidence in the appeal: “We don’t think this is the right decision by any means.
“We know, unequivocally, that John [Textor] didn’t have decisive influence over the club,” he said. “We know we proved that beyond all reasonable doubt because it’s a fact.”
A verdict from CAS is expected by 11 August, with the Europa League group stage set to begin on 24 September.
