Premier League side Crystal Palace have been demoted from the Europa League to the Conference League following Friday’s UEFA ruling.
Despite a 12th-place finish last campaign, Palace secured a spot in next season’s Europa League thanks to a 1-0 win over Manchester City in the FA Cup final at Wembley in May.
The Eagles have been forced to relinquish their spot in the second-tier of Europe’s club competition owing to UEFA’s multi-club ownership regulations.
UEFA rules state that clubs owned, to a certain threshold of influence, by the same person or entity cannot compete in the same European competition.
American businessman John Textor, who owns a stake in Palace, is also the majority owner of Lyon—the French club also qualified for next season’s Europa League.
Lyon recently escaped relegation to Ligue 2 due to their financial problems. A successful appeal overturned a ruling from the National Directorate of Management Control (DNCG), the body responsible for monitoring and overseeing the financial records of French football teams.
The Ligue 1 side had agreed to drop out of the Europa League if their appeal was unsuccessful. A decision that would have confirmed Palace’s place in the competition.
Palace, however, claimed that Textor does not make any decisive decision at the club, but UEFA was not fully convinced by their assertions.
The Eagles demotion to the Conference League is tied to Lyon’s higher league position. The seven-time French champions ended last season in sixth position in Ligue 1.
The Eagles, meanwhile, can appeal UEFA’s ruling at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) and are reportedly set to do so.
If CAS upholds UEFA’s ruling, Nottingham Forest, who finished seventh in the league last season, could replace Palace in the Europa League, joining Aston Villa as England’s representatives.
