CRYSTAL Palace chairman Steve Parish said it was “an incredible travesty of justice” after the Eagles were demoted from the Europa League to the Conference League after Uefa said they had breached multi-club ownership rules.
Palace qualified for Europe’s second competition by winning the FA Cup, but their place there will now be taken by Nottingham Forest, who finished seventh in the Premier League last season.
In a saga that has dragged on all summer, Palace lost their place after Lyon had their relegation to the second tier of French football for financial irregularities overturned.
Lyon are owned by Eagle Football Group, who are owned by John Textor. Textor owns 45 per cent of Palace and Uefa rules say clubs under a multi-ownership structure cannot compete in the same competitions.
Lyon qualified for the Europa League after finishing sixth in Ligue 1 last season but were set to lose their place after their relegation. They are now back in. If clubs are part of a multi-ownership structure, league finishes decide which club qualifies for the European competition.
Textor has agreed to sell his stake to United States businessman and New York Jets owner Woody Johnson. But clubs had until March 1 to resolve any ownership issues. Nottingham Forest’s owner, Evangelos Marinakis, who also owns Greek club Olympiacos, placed his Forest shares in a blind trust before that deadline, when both clubs were still in with a chance of qualifying for the Champions League.
Uefa said last week it was satisfied with its decision to demote Palace after an “assessment of the documentation submitted” by Palace and Lyon.
“It’s an incredible travesty of justice,” Parish said. “We’re not part of a multi-club organisation. [Uefa president] Aleksander Ceferin stood on a platform of supporting small clubs. We stood together with the Super League because I wanted to maintain that dream. I didn’t want a competition where clubs like us were locked out.
“Maybe if we weren’t Crystal Palace, if we were a different club, [Uefa’s investigation] wouldn’t have even got this far.”
Parish was asked it he thought Palace fans blamed him for the debacle. He said: “I don’t care. If you get into this and you’re worried about what people think of you…there’s 10 per cent of the fans that always hate you. I paid off debt, I helped the academy. I think that the smart Crystal Palace fan knows that I’m a guy who showed up and helped.”
Palace can appeal the decision at the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
“It’s a bad day for football,” Parish said last week after the decision was revealed. It’s a terrible injustice. I do believe nobody want to see this. I don’t think Uefa wants to see this. We’ve been locked out of a European competition on the most ridiculous technicality.
“Supporters of all clubs should be devastated for us.”
