Crystal Palace have distanced themselves from the UEFA Conference League – just hours after being drawn in the competition’s play-off round.
On Monday afternoon, Palace’s official website briefly published an article detailing their potential opponents in Europe.
Monday’s draw paired the Eagles with either Norwegian side Fredrikstad or Danish club Midtjylland, with the first leg scheduled for August 21 at Selhurst Park and the return fixture a week later on August 28.
But by Monday evening, that article had been deleted. The original link now returns a 404 error, reading: ‘The page you’re looking for has either been moved, deleted or simply doesn’t exist.’ In addition, no European dates are listed on the club’s online fixture schedule.
The removal of the content underlines Palace’s resistance to playing in the Conference League, with the club still fighting to overturn their controversial demotion from the Europa League.
Palace have taken UEFA to the Court of Arbitration for Sport after being bumped down a tier due to multi-club ownership rules. The club were removed from the Europa League because American businessman John Textor — through his Eagle Football Holdings group — held a 43.9 per cent stake in Palace while also owning 77 per cent of French side Lyon.
The draw for the UEFA Conference League play-off round took place in Nyon on Monday
Crystal Palace were drawn to face either Fredrikstad from Norway or Danish club Midtjylland
But Palace have since deleted any mention of the Conference League draw from their website
Both clubs had qualified for the Europa League, and UEFA rules prohibit two teams under the same ownership or influence from competing in the same European competition. With that in mind, UEFA chose to keep Lyon in the tournament and demoted Palace to the Conference League.
Lyon were deemed the ‘priority club’ due to Textor’s majority control, and because UEFA’s MCO rules state that the club with the higher domestic league finish retains its place. Lyon had finished sixth in Ligue 1, while Palace were 12th in the Premier League — even though Palace qualified via the FA Cup.
Palace argue that UEFA’s application of the MCO regulations contradicts its own competition rules, and have taken their case to CAS, where a hearing will take place on Friday, with a verdict expected next Monday.
Palace say Textor had no controlling interest in the club, with only 25 per cent voting rights, and that the issue has since been resolved — with New York Jets owner Woody Johnson signing a legally binding agreement to buy the shares, pending Premier League approval.
Speaking to Reuters last month Textor said: ‘Honestly, I am stunned. We did everything possible to separate from the club, as UEFA would ask, with a sale process that began before the deadline, and a sale that will occur well before the draw. Now we have sold out of a club that I love, to help Palace fans continue this dream year, only to have another off-the-pitch decision lay waste to an historic sporting victory.’
Club chairman Steve Parish also hit out at the ruling, calling it ‘a terrible injustice.’ He told Sky Sports: ‘Everyone knows we’re not part of a multi-club set-up. We’re caught up in a rule that wasn’t put there for us. This is a ludicrous decision. We will ask the appeal court to listen to our argument.’
Their spot in the Europa League has since been given to seventh-placed Nottingham Forest
Steve Parish has called Palace’s demotion to the Conference League ‘a terrible injustice’
Palace also believe they were treated more harshly than Nottingham Forest, who were granted extra time to adjust their ownership structure to avoid a potential conflict with Olympiacos, also owned by Evangelos Marinakis. In the end, Olympiacos qualified for the Champions League, meaning no clash with Forest ever materialised.
Forest, who initially qualified for the Conference League, have been promoted to the Europa League, subject to Palace’s appeal outcome. Mail Sport understands Forest will send legal representatives to the CAS hearing to defend their place in the competition.
The case is part of a broader crackdown by UEFA on multi-club ownership. Previously, clubs like Manchester City and Girona, and Manchester United and Nice, were allowed to compete in Europe by placing one club in a blind trust, preventing any operational crossover. But UEFA has signalled this will no longer be a viable long-term solution.
UEFA quietly moved the compliance deadline forward from June 1 to March 1 for the 2024–25 season — and Palace argue that they were caught out by this change, having only reached the fifth round of the FA Cup by the March deadline and still being uncertain of European qualification.
