Crystal Palace have lost their appeal against being demoted from the Europa League and will play in the Conference League this season.

The ruling from the Court of Arbitration for Sport (Cas) also means Nottingham Forest’s spot in the Europa League is confirmed, having been promoted in Palace’s place.

The news comes just a day after Palace beat Liverpool on penalties to win the Community Shield at Wembley.

The Eagles qualified for the Europa League after winning the FA Cup last season but were punished by Uefa for breaching multi-club ownership rules.

American businessman John Textor owned a 43% stake in the club until he sold it in June and is the majority owner of Lyon, who have also qualified for the Europa League.

Palace had until 1 March 2025 to show Uefa proof of multi-club ownership restructuring, but the club missed that deadline.

In July, Palace submitted an appeal to Cas against Uefa – which issued the punishment – as well as Lyon and Nottingham Forest.

In the ruling, Cas said:

Regulations are clear and do not provide flexibility to clubs that are non-compliant on the assessment date, as Palace claimed.

Textor still had decisive influence over both clubs at the time of Uefa’s assessment date.

The panel also dismissed Palace’s argument that they received unfair treatment in comparison to Nottingham Forest and Lyon.

Uefa rules state clubs owned, to a certain threshold of influence, by the same person or entity cannot compete in the same European tournament.

Palace argued Textor does not hold any decisive influence at the club, but Uefa did not accept the Premier League side’s defence.

Palace will face either Norwegian side Fredrikstad or Midtjylland of Denmark in the Conference League play-off round later this month.

How did we get here?

17 May – Palace beat Manchester City in FA Cup final to secure place in Europa League

10 June – Forest express concerns over Palace’s Europa League place and ask Uefa for clarity

23 June – Textor sells 43% stake in Palace to New York Jets owner Woody Johnson

30 June – Textor resigns from leadership position on board at Lyon

11 July – Uefa rule Palace should be demoted to Conference League

22 July – Palace submit appeal to Cas against demotion from Europa League

8 August – Cas appeal hearing begins

How did Forest avoid sanction?

Uefa regulations around multi-club ownership and European competitions are in place to prevent collusion.

In the governing body’s rulebook, a club is required to prove they are not “simultaneously involved in any capacity whatsoever in the management, administration, and/or sporting performance of more than one club participating in a Uefa club competition”.

Nottingham Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis, who also controls Greek side Olympiakos, avoided regulations around multi-club ownership by diluting his control of the Premier League side, which was announced in April.

Textor took similar steps to help Palace’s prospects of playing in the Europa League by agreeing to sell his stake to New York Jets owner Johnson in June.

‘Palace counting the cost’

Crystal Palace will be counting the cost of their failed Cas appeal in seeking to overturn the club’s demotion to the Conference League.

From a purely sporting perspective, there is far less prestige in playing in the Conference League compared with the Europa League – the competition Palace believed they had qualified for by winning last season’s FA Cup.

The counter-argument is that Palace will stand a better chance of winning the Conference League. That may be the case, but isn’t really the issue here.

Palace feel this is a huge miscarriage of justice, irrespective of their chances of winning a European trophy next season having seemingly improved.

You also have to wonder how the decision may affect their plans between now and the close of the transfer window.

It is estimated that their European demotion could cost Palace in the region of £20m, a relatively large amount given the size of the club.

That may well now be a factor in trying to sign their preferred targets and their leveraging power as they try to prevent key players from leaving. Marc Guehi and Eberechi Eze are among those attracting interest from the Premier League’s top sides.

Guehi, who has less than a year left on his contract, is likely to be sold with Liverpool among his suitors, while Eze has interest from Arsenal and Tottenham. (BBC)