Crystal Palace Europa League Dreams Shattered as They Lose CAS Appeal

The 2024/25 FA Cup winner, Crystal Palace, will be seen competing in the UEFA Conference League next season. As their appeal was ultimately shut down by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) on Monday. The club wanted to continue to stay in the Europa League, but they lost the right due to ownership rules. The Eagles won the FA Cup, which gave them a guaranteed spot in the 2025/26 UEFA Europa League. But UEFA moved them down to the UEFA Conference League in July.

The reason stated by the CAS was that the club had multi-club ownership problems. American businessman John Textor owned shares in both Crystal Palace and Lyon, and the UEFA rules and guidelines do not allow or permit this. With both clubs qualified for European football for the upcoming season, this created a conflict under UEFA rules & regulations. It was all speculation at one point that Crystal Palace might not play in the Europa League, but it's official now that the Crystal Palace Conference League place in the 2025/26 season is inevitable.

Crystal Palace Won't Play in the Europa League

Palace chairman Steve Parish went to Switzerland for the appeal, and the hearing lasted ten hours on Friday. Three CAS judges heard the case in Lausanne. The club hoped that they would get their Europa League place back. But the Court found that Textor had control at both clubs and was on the board of both teams. Crystal Palace owners had until March 1 to fix the problem. They could have put shares in a blind trust. This would have solved the multi-ownership issue. But they did not take this step in time, or maybe they were reluctant to do so in the beginning. Textor sold his Palace shares, with Woody Johnson bought them in late July. However, this sale came too late to help Palace's case.

The Premier League club Crystal Palace Europa League dream is officially over for now. Nottingham Forest will likely take their place as they finished seventh in the Premier League. Palace finished 12th in the league table. They face a two-legged playoff first. The first leg happens at Selhurst Park on August 21. The club is disappointed with this outcome. Parish said they would look at other legal options. But CAS made it clear that rules cannot be bent. UEFA's multi-club ownership rules are strict. They aim to keep competitions fair. No single owner should control multiple teams. This prevents conflicts of interest in matches.

Palace fans had celebrated winning the FA Cup. They looked forward to European nights at Selhurst Park. Now they must settle for the Conference League instead. The Conference League is still European football. But it ranks below the Europa League. The prize money is also less than the UEFA Europa League rewards.