Crystal Palace blast CAS ruling as Europa League demotion confirmed | OneFootball

Crystal Palace have responded strongly after their appeal to be reinstated to the Europa League was unsuccessful on Monday.

UEFA demoted the Eagles to the Conference League on 11 July after it was determined that John Textor had control or influence at both Palace and French club Lyon. Nottingham Forest have taken the FA Cup winner’s place in the Europa League.

The Court for Arbitration in Sport (CAS) dismissed Palace’s appeal this week, ruling that Textor had “decisive influence” over both the south London outfit and Lyon at the time of UEFA’s assessment.

Crystal Palace blast CAS ruling as Europa League demotion confirmed

Palace say “sporting merit is rendered meaningless” by the verdict and claim that it “appears that certain clubs, organisations and individuals have a unique privilege and power”.

The statement continues “Multi-club structures hide behind the charade of a “blind trust” while clubs such as ours, who have no connection to another club whatsoever, are prevented from playing in the same competition.

“To compound the injustice, clubs that appear to have huge informal arrangements with each other are also allowed to participate and even possibly play against each other.

“While we respect the CAS tribunal members, the process is designed to severely restrict and, in our case, make it almost impossible to receive a fair hearing.

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“The denial of all disclosure requests to obtain correspondence between the relevant parties, the refusal to allow witness testimony from those involved, and the general lack of formality and respect for law mean decisions cannot be properly challenged, leading to pre-determined outcomes.

“Uefa’s decision has wider implications for the governance of the sport. A combination of poorly conceived regulations and their unequal application means our brilliant fans will be deprived of the chance to watch this team compete in the Europa League for the first time in our history.

“This should be a turning point for football.”

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