It should’ve been one of the best summers in Crystal Palace’s history. An FA Cup win against Manchester City. A Community Shield triumph over Liverpool. European football secured. A manager building something serious. A fanbase buzzing. But instead, thanks to UEFA bureaucracy, CAS courtroom rulings, and the tangled mess of multi-club ownership, Palace are heading into the 2025/26 season angry, short-changed, selling their Captain and dumped unceremoniously into the Conference League.
And honestly? Rightly raging.
What Actually Happened?
Crystal Palace should be preparing for Europa League group stages. Instead, they’re planning a Conference League play-off against Fredrikstad. Why?
Because UEFA decided that John Textor’s 43% stake in Palace (via Eagle Football) breached their multi-club ownership rules. Since Textor also owned a stake in Lyon, and Lyon finished higher in Ligue 1, they got the nod. Palace got the boot.
Palace appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). They lost. Nottingham Forest were gifted the spot instead. They lifted the FA Cup at Wembley, beating Manchester City in one of the biggest results in club history. That should’ve guaranteed them direct entry to the Europa League group stage.
But instead of planning European nights at Selhurst Park, they’re dealing with legal fees.
“When we won the FA Cup… our manager and players earned the right to play Europa League football. We have been denied that opportunity.”
– Crystal Palace official statement
So what actually got Crystal Palace kicked out of the Europa League? Let’s untangle the red tape.
UEFA’s Multi-Club Ownership Rule
UEFA has a rule that says two clubs owned by the same person can’t both compete in the same European competition, to protect against conflicts of interest.
Key rule:
By March 1st, any club that might breach this rule must put measures in place…usually a blind trust…to separate the influence of shared ownership.
The idea is sound: prevent one guy from owning two clubs that might face each other in Europe and quietly agreeing to go easy. Fair enough, we can all get on board with that, but ask the same question to the City Group or the Red Bull Group or 777 Partners and and see would they agree?
Enter John Textor: The “Decisive Influence”
John Textor, via Eagle Football Holdings, held:
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43% of Crystal Palace
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Majority control of Lyon (Olympique Lyonnais)
So far, ok yeah I see where you’re going, Palace are poo and mid to low in the Prem so the likelihood of them being in Europe is slim to none but Lyon, big historical club and normally in Europe. Also 1 guy owning a rather large stake in both clubs, bit dodgy, right? But here’s the thing — Palace claim:
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Textor never had decisive influence at the club
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No players ever moved between Palace and Lyon which is true
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No footballing decisions were linked, which is fair, because he was actively selling his shares in Crystal Palace so he could buy Sheffield Wednesday.
Textor, for his part, said:
“If I had decisive influence, then you’d see Eagle Football players at Selhurst Park — and you haven’t.”
Still, CAS and UEFA disagreed. They decided that on March 1st, Textor did have decisive influence. That made Palace and Lyon fall foul of the MCO rules, and since Lyon finished higher in Ligue 1, they got the spot. March 1st, when Palace would have been in the FA Cup 3rd round by the way.
The Email That Changed Everything
UEFA sent a compliance notice, but only Lyon received it. Palace were left in the dark. So while Lyon acted (probably reluctantly), Palace didn’t act at all, because they didn’t know they needed to. I mean, March 1st there is not one person on God’s Green Earth that thought Palace would go on to lift the cup in the final against Pep’s Manchester City.
Palace’s legal team argued that had they seen the warning, they would’ve immediately put Textor’s shares in a blind trust and kept their Europa League place. In July, after all the damage was done, Textor sold his 43% stake in Crystal Palace to Woody Johnson, owner of the New York Jets.
So:
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Palace no longer breached the rule
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Textor was gone
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Palace’s ownership was clean
But again — the key UEFA line was: What mattered was the situation on March 1st. Not July. Not now. Not whether it’s fixed.
In legal terms? Tough luck. In football terms? A shitshow.
What About Lyon? Oh, And Forest.
Let’s not pretend Lyon are squeaky clean here either. They were relegated to Ligue 2 at one point due to financial issues Their spot in Europe was briefly in doubt as a result. But they appealed, got reinstated, and because they finished 6th in Ligue 1, above Palace’s 12th in the Prem, they were given the Europa League slot
So while Palace had silverware, Lyon had paperwork. And that, apparently, wins in 2025. Nottingham Forest are in the Europa League because Palace were removed.
Forest’s owner, Facebook Certified Mad Bastard, Evangelos Marinakis (who also owns Olympiacos), handled things differently. Remember at this point in the season Forest were potentially looking at Champions League football, before their epic slide back down the table. He placed his shares in a blind trust so Forest were ready for the red tape.
Add in the fact that UEFA let other multi-club setups off the hook with “blind trusts” and backroom handshakes, and it’s no wonder Palace fans unfurled a “UEFA Mafia” banner at Wembley and let off flares in protest.
The CAS-trophe
Palace appealed the decision to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), arguing that Textor no longer had decisive influence over the club, that he was already in the process of offloading his stake, and that Palace were being punished on a technicality that could’ve been resolved with a blind trust filing. That’s despite him selling his stake to Woody Johnson (yes, the New York Jets owner) and Palace arguing he had no actual sporting control.
CAS weren’t having it. They backed UEFA, stating that Textor’s influence remained “decisive” at the time of the March 1st assessment deadline.
But here’s where it gets murky. Palace claim they never even saw the compliance email — Lyon did. Palace didn’t act because they weren’t told. And by the time they realised, it was too late. It’s like being given a parking ticket for a sign you never saw, on a street you don’t even remember driving down.
UEFA’s defence? Rules are rules.
Even if those rules are:
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Applied inconsistently
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Based on vague deadlines
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Triggered by paperwork, not sporting achievement
Sporting merit meant nothing. Courtroom technicalities meant everything.
Steve Parish: Leading the Fight
Palace chairman Steve Parish hasn’t minced words. He called the decision a “terrible injustice,” and he’s not wrong. From his perspective, this was a failure of governance, a loophole punishment applied unevenly, with little chance for real defence.
He’s even considering legal action against former shareholder Textor, who may end up costing Palace millions in lost prize money and sponsorship revenue. Because let’s be clear, this isn’t just a feel-bad story. This has real financial fallout:
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Europa League Group Stage Entry: €4.31m
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Conference League Entry: €3.17m
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Europa Win Bonus: €450k per match
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Conference Win Bonus: €400k per match
That shortfall? Could be the difference between signing reinforcements… or not. Less exposure = less sponsorship = fewer eyeballs on Palace’s European story
Palace could go deep in the Conference League, but it’s not the same. This isn’t what Eberechi Eze, Jean-Philippe Mateta, or Marc Guéhi had in mind when they lifted the Cup in May.
Squad Implications: Will Stars Stick Around?
This isn’t just an administrative saga. It’s a squad-altering one. Palace haven’t been able to build their squad this summer, not knowing what competition they were in meant they couldn’t project finances for the season, couldn’t upgrade sponsorship deals, and ultimately sign players. Marc Guéhi is out of contract next summer. Eberechi Eze and Jean-Philippe Mateta want to be playing in Europe, proper Europe, Champions League teams are calling. And manager Oliver Glasner has been blunt: he needs two more signings at minimum if Palace are going to compete across four competitions.
Instead, he’s heading into the Conference League play-offs with the same XI that beat City in May and Liverpool in August, and a summer of transfer uncertainty.
No Palace player has (yet) handed in a transfer request. But playing away to Fredrikstad in a midweek Conference League game, only to fly back and face Arsenal at the weekend? That’ll wear on even the most loyal pros.
Glasner’s Dilemma: Stay Calm and Go Again
You’ve got to feel for Glasner. A Europa League winner with Frankfurt in 2022, now forced to go slumming it in UEFA’s third-tier backwaters. No disrespect to the competition, Chelsea won it last year, but Palace were building something, and this has clipped their wings.
Still, Glasner’s attitude has been focused. He’s keeping the squad tight, targeting smart additions, and pushing for a deep Conference League run. If they win the whole thing? They’ll be back in the Europa League next season, poetic justice. But it’s a harder road. More games. More travel. Less prize money. And fewer eyes on the club, just as they were starting to feel like they belonged in the spotlight.
So… What’s the Fix?
UEFA could start by:
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Moving the MCO compliance deadline to after the season
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Creating a real-time disclosure process, not backroom emails
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Applying rules consistently, not selectively
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Protecting clubs who earn their spots
What’s Next?
Palace now face a Conference League qualifier against likely opponents Fredrikstad, with the first leg at Selhurst Park on August 21. Win that, and they’re into the group stages, and maybe, just maybe, into the redemption arc they deserve. They’ve got the quality, Eze, Mateta & Guehi, to do well in the competition. However each of them has been gaining interest and this decision could be the signal for the vultures to swoop. Palace earned their Europa League place the hard way. On the pitch. In front of fans. Lifting a trophy. Lyon were temporarily relegated due to their financial mess. One plays in the Europa League next season, the other….doesn’t This doesn’t feel right.
Final Whistle
What happened to Palace could happen to any club, theoretically, unless you’re the Red Bull Group, The City Group, 777 Partners or generally associated with one of the big clubs. Because if winning a domestic trophy no longer guarantees European football, no longer means something, then what’s the point? UEFA failed footballing integrity, but are we even surprised anymore?
This isn’t just a Palace story. It’s a football story. UEFA may think they’ve put this saga to bed. But for Palace fans? This story has only just begun and I really hope they go far in Europe this season.
Palace could technically challenge the CAS ruling through the Swiss Federal Tribunal, but only on procedural grounds. That means arguing the hearing was unfair, not that the decision was wrong.
It’s a long shot. So Palace will play in the Conference League. The Game is gone.
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