Crystal Palace has lost its appeal at the CAS (Arbitral Tribunal of Sport) for breaking the rules of UEFA (Union of European Football Associations) for club multipro-mayr and will have to compete in Conference League next season, said the Swiss-based court on Monday (11).
The London Club, champion of the England Super Cup on Sunday (10), after defeating Liverpool on penalties, had qualified to Europe League as winner of the England Cup.
However, UEFA announced last week that Crystal Palace could not compete in the competition due to a conflict of interest, as former club leader John Texor owns Lyon, also classified for tournament, the second most important among clubs on the continent.
Textor left Palace in early July, but the measure was taken too late, according to UEFA, which had given as a deadline on March 1 to transfer the actions of a club without breaking the rules.
UEFA also decided on Crystal Palace’s “relegation” to Conference, the third important competition between European clubs, because the team had a worse ranking in the English Championship (10th) than Lyon in French (6th).
For CAS, “it is evident” that Eagle Football Holdings, a business group founded by Texor, “had actions of both clubs when UEFA evaluated the case,” the court explained.
Similarly, CAS considers that “the UEFA standard is clear and does not open breach so that clubs do not meet the evaluation date.”
Therefore, it will be the nottingham Forest, seventh placed on last season’s Premier League, which will accompany Aston Villa as English representative in Europe League.
