Crystal Palace have filed an appeal with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) against UEFA, Olympique Lyonnais and Nottingham Forest, demanding reinstatement to the Europa League.
The London club was relegated to the Conference League for breaching UEFA’s multi-club ownership rules. Palace seek to reclaim their spot in Europe’s second-tier competition at the expense of Forest or, failing that, to take precedence over Lyon.
The Court of Arbitration for Sport confirmed on Tuesday the receipt of Crystal Palace’s appeal against UEFA, Nottingham Forest and Olympique Lyonnais, following the club’s demotion to the Conference League for violating UEFA’s multi-ownership regulations.
The issue dates back to 11 July, when UEFA’s Club Financial Control Body approved Lyon’s registration for the upcoming Europa League season, having secured their place in Ligue 1.
Palace, however, were relegated to the Conference League as UEFA deemed that the clubs involved failed to meet multi-club ownership criteria set out in the UEFA Club Competition Regulations.
The decision was based on the league positions of the clubs in their respective domestic competitions, with Lyon finishing sixth in Ligue 1 and thus taking precedence over Palace, who were FA Cup winners but finished twelfth in the Premier League.
Palace have now exercised their right to appeal to the CAS, seeking to overturn the CFCB’s ruling concerning the multi-ownership criteria. They request reinstatement to the Europa League at Nottingham Forest’s expense, and subsidiarily, to be admitted ahead of Olympique Lyonnais.
At the end of June, American businessman John Textor sold his 43% stake in Crystal Palace to New York Jets owner Woody Johnson for £190 million (€222 million), enabling the English club to compete in the Europa League next season.
Around the same time, South Korean-American entrepreneur Michele Kang was appointed president of Olympique Lyonnais, succeeding Textor.
According to CAS, the appeal will be reviewed and a verdict issued within a few weeks, with the final deadline for the decision set for 11 August.