; Crystal Palace Demoted to Conference League After UEFA Ownership Ruling - Report Minds Crystal Palace Demoted to Conference League After UEFA Ownership Ruling | Report Minds

Crystal Palace Demoted to Conference League After UEFA Ownership Ruling

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UEFA has officially ruled that Crystal Palace will not participate in the 2025–26 Europa League. Despite earning qualification by winning the FA Cup—the club’s first major trophy—Palace will instead compete in the UEFA Conference League due to a violation of multi-club ownership rules.
Crystal Palace had secured a Europa League spot by defeating Manchester City in the FA Cup final in May 2025. However, UEFA regulations prohibit clubs with the same controlling ownership from competing in the same European competition. At the time of assessment on March 1, 2025, both Palace and French side Olympique Lyonnais were under the majority ownership of Eagle Football Group, led by John Textor. Although Textor has since sold his stake in Palace to Woody Johnson and stepped down from his role at Lyon, UEFA concluded that the changes came after the compliance deadline.

As a result, Lyon, who finished sixth in Ligue 1, retained its Europa League place ahead of Palace based on league position. Nottingham Forest, who had originally qualified for the Conference League, will now take Palace’s place in the Europa League.

UEFA’s Club Financial Control Body (CFCB) found that Palace breached multi-club ownership regulations as of March 1, and therefore rejected their Europa League admission. The club will now compete in the Conference League instead.

Crystal Palace has the right to appeal the decision to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).

This ruling is seen as a significant move by UEFA in enforcing ownership regulations. While other clubs with similar situations, like Manchester City and Girona, or Manchester United and Nice, were allowed to compete after making timely structural adjustments, Palace’s arrangements were deemed non-compliant due to their timing. The club is now awaiting the outcome of any potential appeal to determine whether the decision can be overturned.


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