Palace lose Europa League demotion appeal

Geneva, Aug. 12: Crystal Palace lost its appeal at sport's highest court on Monday against demotion to the third-tier Conference League for breaching UEFA rules on club ownership with American investor John Textor.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport said its judges dismissed the English cup winner's request to stay in the more lucrative second-tier Europa League in a case that also involved Premier League rival Nottingham Forest and French club Lyon.

Forest and Lyon are confirmed taking entries directly into the Europa League in September and Palace must start in the Conference League qualifying playoff round next week. Palace was drawn last week to play Fredrikstad of Norway or Midtjylland of Denmark on Aug. 21 and Aug. 28.

Palace has become a victim in a complex case — which developed last month when Lyon avoided mandatory relegation in France for financial turmoil — that focused attention on long-standing UEFA rules being tested by more overseas investment in European soccer, especially from the United States.

UEFA demoted Palace because Textor had a 43% ownership stake last season while also owning Lyon. Palace missed a March deadline set by UEFA to solve the potential issue.

CAS said its judges decided Textor "was a board member with decisive influence over both clubs at the time of UEFA's assessment date."

The panel of three judges "considered that the UEFA Regulations are clear and do not provide flexibility to clubs that are non-compliant on the assessment date," the court said in a statement.

The case proceeded despite Textor selling his stake in Palace last month to New York Jets owner Woody Johnson, reportedly for at least $220 million. Johnson joins Palace chairman Steve Parish and fellow Americans Josh Harris and David Blitzer as partners and directors of the south London club.

Unlike Palace, Forest and Lyon remain part of multi-club ownership networks though do not currently conflict with UEFA rules for entry to the next editions of European competitions. Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis also has Greek title holder Olympiakos which plays in the Champions League this season.

Palace qualified on merit for the second-tier Europa League by winning the English FA cup against Manchester City in May — a first major trophy in the club's 120-year history.

The threat of UEFA sanctions for breaching multi-club ownership rules — drafted more than 25 years ago to protect the integrity of European competitions — cast a shadow over Palace's offseason celebrations and preparations for this season.

At Wembley Stadium on Sund. (AP)