Palace earned a spot in the Europa League after winning the FA Cup last season. However, UEFA recently relegated the English club to the Conference League, the third-tier European club competition. The demotion stems from American billionaire John Textor's ownership of Eagle Football Holdings, a major shareholder in Crystal Palace and owner of French club Lyon. UEFA regulations prohibit clubs with the same owner from competing in the same tournament.
Palace immediately appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). If successful, either Lyon or Nottingham Forest, the team promoted to the Europa League in Palace's place, would be removed from the competition. The CAS will announce its final decision on 11/8.
Textor attempted to resolve the issue by selling a stake in Eagle Football Holdings to American billionaire Woody Johnson for 216 million USD. This proved futile as Lyon won their appeal against a demotion to the French second division for prior financial irregularities. This cleared Lyon to participate in the Europa League. Because the transfer of Textor's ownership wasn't finalized by UEFA's 1/3 deadline, Palace was disqualified from the Europa League.
While awaiting the CAS ruling, the Holmesdale Fanatics, a group of ardent Palace supporters, protested at UEFA's headquarters in Nyon on 22/7. They delivered a letter directly addressed to UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin, demanding Palace's reinstatement to the Europa League.
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A Crystal Palace fan opens a suitcase filled with fake money at the reception desk of UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland on 22/7. Photo: Holmesdale Fanatics |
A Crystal Palace fan opens a suitcase filled with fake money at the reception desk of UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland on 22/7. Photo: Holmesdale Fanatics
The Holmesdale Fanatics brought a suitcase of counterfeit money, symbolizing "the contradiction between UEFA's so-called 'core values' of integrity and fairness and the reality of their business practices and overall conduct". By the shores of Lake Geneva, the Palace fans also unfurled a banner reading, "UEFA: Morally bankrupt, overturn the ruling now".
"We came to Switzerland representing all Palace fans in the fight against UEFA's morally unjust decision, and to show that public opinion demands this ruling be overturned to ensure justice is served," Mick Grafton of the Holmesdale Fanatics told the Independent.
Following the protest in Nyon, the group traveled to the CAS headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland, to reiterate their desire for the UEFA ruling to be overturned with a banner stating, "CAS - Give us what we earned".
According to the Times, Palace's appeal to the CAS highlights an inconsistency: Nottingham Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis, also the owner and chairman of Greek club Olympiacos, relinquished his executive role at Forest only at the end of April, also past UEFA's deadline.
Compiled by Ha Phuong
