Crystal Palace's Europa League Dreams Crushed as Premier League Rivals Swoop In to Claim Their Spot
Crystal Palace's Europa League exclusion has been confirmed by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), meaning Nottingham Forest will secure their European spot as the Eagles are relegated to the Conference League instead.
Following their FA Cup victory in May, Palace had earned automatic Europa League qualification since their 12th-place Premier League standing wouldn't normally grant European football access. Nevertheless, UEFA declared in July that the London club couldn't compete due to alleged violations of multi-club ownership regulations.
During their Wembley success, Palace's controlling shareholder was John Textor, who simultaneously owned Lyon. The French club had similarly secured qualification for the 2025–26 Europa League season through their sixth-place Ligue 1 finish. UEFA rules forbid teams from competing in identical tournaments when a shared entity holds decisive control over both organizations. Since Lyon achieved qualification through superior league placement compared to Palace, they received tournament entry while the Eagles faced demotion.
Textor disputed having influence at Palace, and his 43% ownership was transferred to New York Jets proprietor Woody Johnson in June, preceding UEFA's original decision. The timing proved insufficient.
The cutoff date for Palace to demonstrate no conflict of interest with Lyon was March 1, 2025. UEFA had attempted to notify the club through repeated emails starting in January, yet as club chairman Steve Parish publicly acknowledged, "nobody saw it" since messages went to the club's general contact address instead of personal email accounts.
CAS stated they supported UEFA's verdict because "regulations are unambiguous and offer no accommodation to clubs failing compliance on the assessment date, as Palace argued". The statement continued: "Textor maintained decisive control over both organizations during UEFA's evaluation period."
Nottingham Forest stand as the direct winners from this decision. Through their seventh-place Premier League campaign last season, they have claimed Palace's available Europa League position.