Crystal Palace Appeals UEFA's Decision to Drop to the European Conference League

• The hearing of the case of Crystal Palace against UEFA will take place on September 8
• The club appeals the downgrade to the Conference League due to multi-club ownership
• Nottingham Forest will replace Palace in the Europa League, should the appeal be rejected

On September 8, a closed hearing will take place at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), during which Crystal Palace will challenge the UEFA decision to drop them to the third tier of the European League. The London club, which earned the right to participate by winning the FA Cup, was relegated to the Conference due to multi-club ownership rules.

The case was violated through the Eagle Football group, whose head John Textor has a controlling stake in Crystal Palace and was also the majority owner of Lyon. After this, Textor submitted a request to the Lyon board, and the new head became Michel Kang. Lyon, regardless of joint ownership, can still participate in the European League, since they finished sixth in League 1, which is a higher result than Palace's qualification.

If the appeal is not satisfied, Nottingham Forest, which finished seventh in the Premier League, will replace Palace in the European League. The ruling on the case is not expected on the day of the hearing, but the decision will likely be announced on September 11.

Earlier in July, Crystal Palace fans expressed dissatisfaction with UEFA's decision, protesting outside the main office of the organization in Switzerland. The club failed to meet the important deadline of January 1 to confirm that John Textor does not control any other club that participates in the same competition.

Tags: Sport/Football