Softfootball can gather that the Chairman of Crystal Palace, Steve Parish, has slammed UEFA over the latest rulings on the English club. Steve Parish has branded UEFA’s decision to block Crystal Palace’s Europa League participation as a “terrible injustice” and “a bad day for football.”
The Athletic reported that the club is preparing to lodge an official appeal with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).

The south London side had secured their place in the competition after a historic FA Cup triumph in May, their first-ever major trophy, only to be demoted to the UEFA Conference League after breaching multi-club ownership rules.
The issue stems from Eagle Football, the group that owns a 43% stake in Palace and is controlled by John Textor, who also owns a majority stake in French side Lyon, another club qualified for UEFA competition.
Then it led UEFA’s Club Financial Control Body (CFCB), which then determined that Palace fell foul of Article 5 of the competition regulations due to a 43% ownership stake held by Eagle Football, a group controlled by John Textor, who also owns Ligue 1 side Lyon.
Despite efforts to resolve the situation, including a proposed sale of Eagle’s stake to New York Jets owner Woody Johnson, UEFA ruled that, as of 1 March 2025, both Palace and Lyon were in breach of its regulations, which prohibit any individual or group from exerting “control or decisive influence” over more than one competing club.
Speaking to Sky Sports, Parish said:
“We’re devastated. It’s a bad day for football. It’s a terrible injustice. We’ve been locked out of a European competition on the most ridiculous technicality. Supporters of all clubs should be devastated for us.”
Palace had presented their case to UEFA’s panel on June 3, insisting there were no operational overlaps with Lyon. Parish then added that Crystal Palace was never a multi-club setup, a thought by UEFA, and the club has been autonomous.
“Everyone knows we’re not part of a multi-club set-up,
“We don’t share staff, we don’t share decision-making. I think we’ve shown John had no influence over our club.”
The ruling clears Lyon to compete in the 2025/26 Europa League, while Palace are provisionally reassigned to the Conference League. Nottingham Forest, who finished seventh in the Premier League, are next in line for the Europa League spot, but confirmation will hinge on the outcome of Palace’s appeal.
UEFA has previously made exceptions for other multi-club relationships, notably clearing Manchester City and Girona and Manchester United and Nice to compete in the same tournaments after structural adjustments were made.
Parish believes Palace deserved the same leniency.
“We’re caught up in a rule that wasn’t made for us,” he said. “This is a ludicrous decision. We will ask the appeal court to listen to our argument.”
The case now moves to CAS, where Palace will hope to overturn a decision that threatens to overshadow their most successful campaign in club history.
Softfootball had earlier documented the reasons for Crystal Palace’s disqualification, which will send the club to participate in the Conference League instead of the Europa League, which they initially qualified for.
In their place, Nottingham Forest, who originally secured a Conference League spot with a seventh-place finish in the Premier League, are now set to compete in the Europa League.
UEFA’s Club Financial Control Body (CFCB) cited a violation of Article 5, which prevents any individual or entity from holding “control or decisive influence” over more than one club participating in European competition.