Crystal Palace Unsuccessfully Challenges UEFA Over dropping the Club from Europa League
In a surprising turn of events, Crystal Palace will not be participating in the Europa League this season, following a ruling by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). The London-based club was demoted to the Conference League due to a breach of UEFA's multi-club ownership (MCO) regulations.
The MCO rules prohibit any individual or entity from having control or decisive influence over more than one football club participating in the same UEFA competition. This rule safeguards the integrity of UEFA competitions by preventing conflicts of interest. If two clubs with the same controlling owner qualify for the same UEFA competition, only one club is allowed to participate.
Crystal Palace's former co-owner, John Textor, held influential shares in both Palace and French club Olympique Lyonnais, who also qualified for the Europa League that season. Although Textor sold his Palace stake after the UEFA assessment date (March 1), at the time of that assessment he still had decisive influence over both clubs, violating UEFA's MCO regulations.
The club appealed to the CAS, arguing unfair treatment and minimal influence by Textor, but the court upheld UEFA’s decision citing clear regulations without flexibility for non-compliance at the assessment date.
This case highlights the complexity of UEFA’s MCO rules amid the increasing trend of multi-club ownership, prompting UEFA and FIFA to review and possibly revise policies to better handle these situations in future seasons.
Crystal Palace qualified for the Europa League by winning the FA Cup in May. Their appeal to the CAS began on August 8, exactly one week before the start of the new Premier League season. Despite the setback, Crystal Palace will make their Conference League debut later this month.
Nottingham Forest, who reported Palace to UEFA, are expected to take Palace's place in the Europa League. Steve Parish, Palace's chairman, attended a hearing in front of three CAS judges in Lausanne in an attempt to overturn the ruling, to no avail.
Palace's fans feel unfairly punished for not playing in the Europa League. Woody Johnson, the former US ambassador to London, purchased John Textor's stake in Palace in late July, but the damage had already been done.
The ruling was against Crystal Palace's appeal of UEFA's decision to drop them down from the Europa League to the Conference League. Crystal Palace did not try to separate control of the club by the 1 March deadline, and Lyon, another club owned by John Textor, finished higher in their league (Ligue 1) and were allowed to keep their place in the Europa League.
As Crystal Palace prepares for their Conference League debut, they will undoubtedly strive to make a strong impression and regain their place in the Europa League in future seasons.
- The complexities surrounding multi-club ownership, as exemplified by the Crystal Palace case, may prompt a reevaluation of UEFA and FIFA's MCO regulations to ensure fairer handling of similar situations in future seasons.
- The ruling against Crystal Palace's appeal meant that they were demoted from the Europa League to the Conference League, a decision that has left their fans feeling unfairly punished for not participating in a more prestigious tournament.
