Crystal Palace will play in the Conference League following the CAS rule
Crystal Palace’s appeal against UEFA’s decision to demote them from the Europa League to the Conference League, the third division, was denied by the Court of Arbitration for Sport on Monday.
UEFA demoted Palace while allowing Olympique Lyonnais to play in the Europa League because Palace was mostly controlled by their chairman, John Textor, and Lyon was then mainly owned by the Eagle Football Group.
Nottingham Forest, who finished seventh in the Premier League the previous season, will take Palace’s place in the Europa League.
The CAS said in a statement that after weighing the evidence, the panel concluded that Eagle Football Holdings founder John Textor had stock in both OL and CPFC and was a board member with significant control over both teams on the day of UEFA’s assessment.
“The panel also rejected CPFC’s claim that they were treated unfairly in contrast to Nottingham Forest and OL.”
Palace did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Palace, the FA Cup winners who qualified for the Europa League, appealed UEFA’s decision last month.
The appeal was submitted just a few days before New York Jets co-owner Robert Wood “Woody” Johnson completed the purchase of Textor-founded Eagle Football Holdings’ Palace stake.
Furthermore, Michele Kang was appointed president and chairwoman of Lyon’s board of directors, and Textor resigned from the position.
Although both Lyon and Palace qualified for the Europa League, the French team was allowed to keep their position because they had performed better in their respective leagues.
Lyon finished sixth in Ligue 1, and Palace came in 12th in the Premier League.
In a statement, Lyon said, “Olympique Lyonnais welcomes today’s decision by the Court of Arbitration for Sport confirming its participation in the Europa League.”
Later this month, Palace will compete in the Conference League’s qualifying playoff round after defeating Liverpool in a penalty shootout to win the Community Shield on Sunday.
