Palace lose appeal against Europa League demotion in CAS

UEFA demoted the FA cup winners as, at the time, the Eagle Football Group were also majority owners of French side Lyon

Crystal Palace fans celebrate after winning the FA Community Shield - FA Community Shield - Crystal Palace v Liverpool - Wembley Stadium, London, Britain - Aug 10, 2025. REUTERS/Toby Melville

Crystal Palace have lost their appeal against UEFA's decision to drop them from the Europa League to the third-tier Conference League in a multi-club ownership case, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) said on Monday.

UEFA demoted Palace last month while allowing Olympique Lyonnais to play in the Europa League as, at the time, the Eagle Football Group were majority owners of Lyon while their chairman John Textor owned a controlling stake in Palace.

Palace, who qualified for the Europa League as FA Cup winners, appealed against UEFA's decision last month.

The appeal came days before New York Jets co-owner Robert Wood "Woody" Johnson completed the purchase of Textor-founded Eagle Football Holdings' stake in Palace.

Textor has also resigned from Lyon's board of directors with Michele Kang appointed chairwoman and president.

As both Lyon and Palace had qualified for the Europa League, the French club were allowed to keep their place as they had finished higher in their respective leagues. Lyon finished sixth in Ligue 1 while Palace were 12th in the Premier League.

Palace, who won the Community Shield on Sunday beating Liverpool in a penalty shootout, are set to play in the Conference League's qualifying playoff round later this month.

Nottingham Forest will replace Palace in the Europa League, having finished seventh in the English top-tier.