Crystal Palace Faces Unfavorable Legal Reputation
In a surprising turn of events, Crystal Palace has been excluded from the 2025/2026 UEFA Europa League, despite winning the FA Cup. The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) confirmed this decision, much to the disappointment of the London-based club.
The exclusion is a result of Crystal Palace breaching UEFA's multi-club ownership rules. The club's majority shareholder, American businessman John Textor, holds significant control in both Crystal Palace and Olympique Lyonnais (Lyon), who also qualified for the Europa League. According to UEFA regulations, clubs under the same decisive ownership influence cannot compete in the same UEFA competition.
Crystal Palace missed the March 1 deadline to prove restructuring of ownership that would comply with these rules. As a consequence, UEFA initially excluded Crystal Palace from the Europa League, placing them instead in the Conference League. The club, coached by Oliver Glasner, appealed to the CAS, but their appeal was dismissed on August 11, 2025.
Nottingham Forest will take Crystal Palace's starting place in the Europa League instead. Meanwhile, Crystal Palace will compete in the UEFA Conference League, starting with a play-off round against either Fredrikstad (Norway) or Midtjylland (Denmark).
It's important to note that this decision is not related to sporting qualification but rather bureaucratic issues. The decision was made due to Olympique Lyon avoiding relegation and having a better league position (6th) than Crystal Palace (12th).
Despite the setback, Crystal Palace had a successful transfer period and managed to win the Community Shield against FC Liverpool with a 3:2 penalty shootout win, a day before the UEFA decision. The win came after a spectacular goal by Florian Wirtz, a promising young talent in the team.
This turn of events is a dampener for Crystal Palace, who were looking forward to competing in the Europa League. However, the club will continue to fight and aim for success in the UEFA Conference League.
The club's exclusion from the UEFA Europa League stems from a breach of UEFA's multi-club ownership rules, as Crystal Palace's majority shareholder, John Textor, holds controlling interests in both Crystal Palace and Olympique Lyonnais. In light of this, the club's community policy and employment policy might face revisions to ensure compliance with UEFA regulations. Besides, Crystal Palace's football team, coached by Oliver Glasner, will now focus on excelling in the UEFA Conference League, while decorated by Florian Wirtz's sportive brilliance, despite the initial disappointment of missing out on the Europa League.
