Crystal Palace have lost their appeal against demotion from the Europa League and will play in the Conference League this season, Afrosport reports.
This means Nottingham Forest, who finished seventh in the Premier League last season, will take their place in the competition.
Palace booked a spot in the Europa League after winning the FA Cup in May, following a 1-0 victory over Manchester City at Wembley. However, they were demoted to the third tier of European football owing to UEFA’s multi-club ownership rules.
American businessman John Textor owned a 43% stake in the south London club before he sold it to New York Jets owner Woody Johnson. The 59-year-old, who is the founder of Eagle Football Holdings, is also the majority owner of French club Lyon, who also qualified for the Europa League.
Palace were given until 1 March 2025 by UEFA to prove they had rectified their multi-club ownership issues, but the club failed to meet the deadline.
Following UEFA’s ruling, the Eagles submitted an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS) against the European body, Lyon and fellow Premier League side Nottingham Forest.
According to CAS, a hearing took place on 8 August at its headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland, with Prof, Luigi Fumagalli as president, alongside Manfred Nan and Olivier Carrard on the panel.
The body ruled that at the time of UEFA’s assessment date, Textor was a board member at both Palace and Lyon and still had “decisive influence” over the two clubs.
CAS’ panel also dismissed Palace’s argument that they received unfair treatment in comparison to Forest and Lyon. It also added that UEFA regulations are clear and “do not provide flexibility to clubs that are non-compliant on the assessment date, as Palace claimed”.
Palace defeated Liverpool on penalties on Sunday to win the Community Shield for the first time in club history, claiming their second title in three months.
The Eagles will be England’s sole flag-bearer in the Conference League this season, while Forest will be joined in the Europa League by Aston Villa.
Oliver Glasner’s men will begin their Premier League campaign against Chelsea, with a visit to Stamford Bridge on Sunday, 17 August.
