Crystal Palace Qualifies For UEFA Conference League After CAS Rejects Appeal

‎Crystal Palace have failed in their appeal and will move down to the Conference League after losing the case at the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

‎The CAS confirmed that the FA Cup winners could not overturn UEFA’s sanction for breaches related to multi-club ownership.

‎UEFA relegated Palace to the Conference League after ruling they breached rules by John Textor holding shares in both Palace and Lyon, who also qualified for the Europa League. He has since sold his 43% stake to fellow American investor Woody Johnson.

‎At the CAS hearing on Friday in Lausanne, a Palace delegation led by chair Steve Parish argued that Textor never wielded decisive influence in the boardroom and is no longer with the club.

‎They also contended that UEFA had singled out Palace and that its rules had not been applied consistently.

‎How Nottingham qualified ahead of Palace

‎Palace is said to have shown that only members of the European Club Association (ECA) were told that UEFA’s 1 March deadline for establishing a blind trust to comply with multi-club rules could be extended to 31 May.

‎This extension allowed Nottingham Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis to place the club into a blind trust at the end of April. Marinakis also owns Olympiakos.

‎Cas said, “After considering the evidence, the panel found that John Textor, founder of Eagle Football Holdings, had shares in CPFC and OL and was a Board member with decisive influence over both clubs at the time of UEFA’s assessment date.

‎”The panel also dismissed the argument by CPFC that they received unfair treatment in comparison to Nottingham Forest and OL. The panel considered that the UEFA regulations are clear and do not provide flexibility to clubs that are non-compliant on the assessment date, as CPFC claimed.”

‎Forest, who finished seventh in the Premier League and qualified for the Conference League, are expected to be promoted to the Europa League.

‎Palace will face the losers of the Europa League qualifier between Norway’s Fredrikstad and Denmark’s Midtjylland in a Conference League playoff.

‎The first leg is scheduled at Selhurst Park on 21 August, three days before Forest play there in the Premier League.

‎Parish was asked about the appeal at Sunday’s Community Shield, when Palace beat Liverpool on penalties, and said, “I’m determined that we get the right outcome. If we don’t, we’ll have to look at whether there are any steps after that. But after Friday, I don’t understand how we can not be in the competition.”