The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has rejected Crystal Palace’s appeal regarding their demotion from the Europa League to the Conference League due to multi-club ownership (MCO) regulations.
UEFA’s Club Financial Control Body (CFCB) determined last month that Palace was too closely connected to Lyon.
Palace’s appeal consisted of three arguments: that the CFCB’s decision was unjust, that Nottingham Forest should be elevated to the Europa League, and that Lyon’s participation was improper. All three arguments were dismissed by CAS.
Nottingham Forest has benefited from this ruling, being promoted from the Conference League to compete in the Europa League.
Palace must now enter the Conference League in the playoff round later this month, facing the losers of the Europa League tie between Fredrikstad and FC Midtjylland—the second leg of which is scheduled for Thursday.
Crystal Palace qualified for the Europa League after defeating Manchester City in the FA Cup final in May, but just a week later, Paris Saint-Germain’s victory in the Coupe de France final saw Lyon promoted from the Conference League to the Europa League.
When two clubs violate the MCO regulation, the team that finishes higher in the league is entitled to participate in the European competition.
Although Palace (12th) won the FA Cup and Lyon (6th) qualified on a technicality, league standings ultimately determined the rights to participation.
This situation stemmed from the shareholding of John Textor through Eagle Football Holdings Limited, who holds a controlling interest in Lyon and 43.9% of Palace.
The Premier League club contended that Textor has no influence over Palace’s operations; however, regulations regarding decisive influence prohibit any individual from owning more than 30% of a team in the same competition.
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