Crystal Palace will not play in the Europa League this season after losing their appeal against UEFA’s decision to drop them down to the Conference League.
The ruling by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) was delivered on Monday.
CAS ruled against the Premier League club in its appeal of UEFA’s decision to drop them down from the Europa League – European football’s second competition – to the Conference League – its third competition – for allegedly not complying with the governing body’s multi-club ownership rules.
Palace, who beat Liverpool to win the Community Shield on Sunday, qualified for the Europa League by winning the FA Cup in May.
They lost their place because their former shareholder John Textor, who was the majority owner of French club Lyon, did not put his Palace shares in a blind trust by the 1 March deadline.
Palace were placed in the Conference League by UEFA last month, as under its competition rules, clubs with the same owner(s) are forbidden from playing each other in the same tournament.
As both Lyon and Palace had qualified for the Europa League, the French club were allowed to keep their place as they had finished higher in their respective leagues.
Lyon finished sixth in Ligue 1 while Palace were 12th in the Premier League.
Nottingham Forest, who reported Palace to UEFA earlier this year for not complying with the multi-club ownership rules, are expected to take their place in the Europa League after finishing seventh in England’s top division.
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Their owner, Evangelos Marinakis, had earlier removed himself from control of Nottingham Forest, putting his shares into a blind trust when it looked like Forest would qualify for the Champions League alongside Olympiakos, also owned by the Greek billionaire.
Palace chairman Steve Parish attended a 10-hour hearing in front of three CAS judges in Lausanne on Friday.
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He confirmed that Palace would play in the Conference League if the decision went against them.
They are set to make their debut later this month in the qualifying playoff round.
Three days later, they face Forest in their first home league game of the season.
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