Palace attacks UEFA: "One of the greatest injustices in football history"
Crystal Palace reacted with great anger to their Europa League ban. Club chairman Steve Parish appealed to UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin and hinted at taking the matter to CAS.
Will the FA Cup victory be followed by "only" the Conference League? Palace club boss Steve Parish (left) and coach Oliver Glasner. Picture alliance / empics
Two months after the final, Crystal Palace's joy at their first FA Cup victory in history has turned to anger for the time being. UEFA's exclusion from the Europa League and relegation to the Conference League on Friday has caused great dismay at the Premier League club, led by coach Oliver Glasner.
"We are devastated," club chairman Steve Parish told Sky Sports , calling it "one of the greatest injustices in football history." UEFA believes Palace violated multi-club ownership rules. "This is a terrible day for football. Most football fans, the righteous football fans, will see what a terrible injustice this is. Fans of all clubs should be devastated for us. This is a ridiculous decision," Parish continued.
"I don't think UEFA wants to see that"Palace's downfall was that investor John Textor is the club's largest shareholder with a 43 percent stake. Until recently, he also owned Olympique Lyon, which had also qualified for the Europa League and is now eligible to compete there after avoiding relegation . UEFA prohibits two or more clubs controlled by the same institution from competing in the same competition. The team with the lower league ranking, in this case Palace, is always forced to withdraw.
This season, for the first time, European football's governing body only gave affected clubs until March 1 to prove a restructuring of their ownership - as Manchester City and Girona FC did last season before their joint participation in the Champions League , when the deadline for doing so expired later.
Palace, however, doesn't see itself as being affected by the rule at all. "We were excluded from a European competition because of a ridiculous technicality. I don't think anyone wants to see that. I don't think UEFA wants to see that. Everyone knows we're not part of a multi-club arrangement. We don't share personnel. We're caught up in a rule that wasn't designed for us," Parish complains. "I don't understand why the panel came to the conclusion they did. I think we've shown that John had no influence on our club."
Club boss Parish calls for intervention from the highest levelPalace had missed the UEFA March deadline – when they hadn't even reached the FA Cup round of 16 and had no European ambitions beyond the league either. Textor himself had said on Talksport this week: "Why should I give my shares to a trust before March when the rule says you only have to do that if you have decisive influence?" That wasn't the case for him.
The Londoners, for whom participation in the Conference League would also be a European debut, are now, as expected , considering taking the case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). This is an "option," explained Parish, who also appealed to the UEFA President himself: "We would prefer that someone intervene in this process. We believe it's possible that Ceferin or someone else might do so."
Nottingham Forest is unlikely to wish Palace much luck. Last year's seventh-place finish in the Premier League would likely be promoted from the Conference League, for which they had originally qualified, to the Europa League if the UEFA ruling against their league rivals stands.
