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Crystal Palace Lose Appeal and Drop to Europa Conference League

Crystal Palace’s hopes of competing in the Europa League this season are over after the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) upheld UEFA’s decision to demote them to the Europa Conference League. Nottingham Forest will take their place in Europe’s second-tier competition, securing their first Europa League campaign in nearly three decades.

The ruling came just 24 hours after Palace celebrated a dramatic Community Shield victory over Liverpool at Wembley, where over 82,000 fans witnessed the Eagles win on penalties.

Palace earned Europa League qualification by winning last season’s FA Cup but were sanctioned for breaching UEFA’s multi-club ownership regulations. At the time of UEFA’s compliance deadline on March 1, 2025, American businessman John Textor still owned 43% of Palace and was the majority shareholder of French side Lyon — another Europa League qualifier.

UEFA’s rules prohibit two clubs under the decisive influence of the same person or entity from competing in the same European competition. Despite Textor selling his Palace stake in June, CAS determined that he still exerted decisive influence over both clubs when UEFA made its assessment.

Palace’s appeal also claimed they were treated unfairly compared to Lyon and Nottingham Forest, but the panel rejected this argument, stating the regulations “are clear and non-negotiable.” The Eagles will now face either Norway’s Fredrikstad or Denmark’s Midtjylland in the Conference League play-off round later this month, aiming to turn disappointment into a deep European run.

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