Crystal Palace chairman Steve Parish has launched a blistering attack on UEFA following the governing body’s decision to demote the club from the Europa League to the Conference League. The move comes in light of concerns over multi-club ownership rules and has left Parish furious, calling it “one of the greatest injustices” ever witnessed in European football.
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Palace won the FA Cup in 2025Were supposed to play in the Europa LeagueUEFA's multi-club ownership rules cost them their spotFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?
The Eagles had secured Europa League qualification after lifting the FA Cup, the first major trophy in the club’s history. But that triumph has now been overshadowed by UEFA’s ruling that deemed a conflict of interest due to the involvement of investor John Textor in both Crystal Palace and French club Lyon.
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According to UEFA's regulations, no two clubs with shared ownership structures can participate in the same European competition. The deadline to resolve such conflicts was set for March 1. Following Lyon’s reinstatement to Ligue 1 after their relegation was overturned, the French club claimed a Europa League slot, pushing Palace out of the competition and down into the Conference League.
WHAT PARISH SAID
Reacting to the ruling in an exclusive interview with , Parish expressed disbelief at what he sees as an arbitrary and unjust interpretation of a rule that he argues the club was powerless to comply with.
He said: "Obviously, we're devastated. We're devastated for, most importantly, the supporters. I think the supporters of all clubs should be devastated for us because this is the dream. You win a cup, actually win something for the first time in your history. Somebody said to me it's like winning the lottery, going to the counter and you don't get the prize. I'm devastated for the players, for the fans, for the staff. It's a bad day for football.
"I think most right-minded football fans will see what a terrible injustice this is for the football club, one that I dearly hope somebody can remedy because I do believe that nobody in football wants to see this. I don't think UEFA want to see this. Clubs that rightfully qualify for a competition being locked out of that competition on the most ridiculous technicality that you could imagine. We will appeal. I don't want to prejudge [whether they'd win]. When I say we'll appeal, we're looking at all of the options at the moment. That obviously is one option. What we would much prefer is if somebody intervened in this process."
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In defence of Palace’s independence, Parish was adamant the club and Lyon are entirely separate in practical terms.
"Obviously, as everybody knows, John or anybody at Eagle Football [Textor's company] didn't have decisive influence over Crystal Palace," he said. "Everybody knows this. Everybody knows we're not part of a multi-club [ownership]. Everybody knows we have no staff, no players from Lyon, no loans, no transactions. We've caught a tripwire. We're caught up in a rule that wasn't put there for us.
"It will change. Nobody's going to stick with this rule. It's a crazy rule. I don't understand why the panel have come to the conclusion they've come to. We've proved to them beyond all reasonable doubt that John didn't have decisive influence over anything to do with the football club, yet still they've come up with this decision, which seems incongruous."