Crystal Palace Demoted to UEFA Conference League by UEFA Ruling

UEFA has officially confirmed that Crystal Palace will not participate in the Europa League for the 2025/26 season. Instead, the FA Cup winners have been reassigned to the UEFA Conference League, following a ruling related to multi-club ownership violations.

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⚖️ The Reason Behind the Decision

The issue stems from a breach of UEFA’s multi-club ownership regulations (Article 5).

John Textor, Crystal Palace’s co-owner, also had significant control over Olympique Lyonnais, who also qualified for the Europa League via Ligue 1.

Under UEFA rules, two clubs with shared ownership cannot compete in the same European competition.

Since Lyon finished higher in their domestic league, they retain their Europa League place.

Crystal Palace, despite winning the FA Cup, will now drop to the Conference League.

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🕒 Timing Matters

Although Palace were in the process of resolving the conflict—reportedly selling Textor’s stake to Woody Johnson—the sale was finalized after UEFA’s March 1 deadline, making it ineligible to influence the decision.

UEFA’s Club Financial Control Body (CFCB) ruled based on this timeline, enforcing the regulations accordingly.

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🆙 Nottingham Forest to Benefit?

With Palace now moved to the Conference League, it’s expected that Nottingham Forest, who finished 7th in the Premier League, will take Palace’s place in the Europa League, though an official announcement from UEFA is still pending.

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⚠️ Palace to Appeal?

Crystal Palace may pursue an appeal with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). UEFA has stated they will wait for the resolution of any legal process before finalizing confirmations.

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🔍 Summary

Crystal Palace: FA Cup winners but demoted to UEFA Conference League

Lyon: Remain in the Europa League

Nottingham Forest: Likely to be promoted to Europa League

UEFA ruling: Enforced based on multi-club ownership rules and missed compliance deadline