Picture Credit: X
Crystal Palace, the reigning FA Cup champions, who defeated Manchester City at Wembley Stadium in London 1-0 two months ago, were supposed to play in the UEFA Europa League by virtue of winning the tournament. But, the London-based club got demoted to the UEFA Conference League, the lowest tier of the European club football competition, due to breaching the multi-club ownership rules, and it has led to protest against the ruling from the Crystal Palace fans.
One of the banners from the Crystal Palace fans, who marched to the Selhurst Park in protest, read, “UEFA: Morally Bankrupt. Revoke the ruling now.” Notably, since American businessman Jon Textor owns a stake in Crystal Palace apart from being the majority owner of Lyon with both clubs qualifying for the UEFA Europa League, the rules from the European governing body were applied to the situation, leading to the demotion of the London-based club.
Crystal Palace looking to take the case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS): Reports
As per the rules, UEFA had a set deadline of March 1, 2025, for clubs to show proof of multi-club ownership restructuring, wherein a same person or entity can’t own a club under a certain threshold of influence, but it was missed by Crystal Palace. Apart from carrying the banners, there were hundreds of club fans chanting against UEFA for their demotion to the Conference League, which was won last season by Chelsea.
Watch the video here:
In the place of Crystal Palace, the team selected to play in the UEFA Europa League is Nottingham Forest, who finished in seventh place in the Premier League last season. As far as the next step from Crystal Palace is concerned, they are reportedly looking to take the case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), where the club is expected to get some relief.
Moreover, it was just last week when Crystal Palace Chairman Steve Parish stated that their demotion from UEFA is “a bad day for football” and “a terrible injustice”.
