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Crystal Palace supporters took to the streets on Tuesday evening in a public show of frustration over UEFA’s decision to relegate the club from the Europa League to the Conference League. The protest, which drew hundreds of fans, was organized by the Holmesdale Fanatics and began at Norwood Clocktower before concluding at Selhurst Park.
The fallout stems from UEFA’s ruling that Palace breached multi-club ownership rules due to American co-owner John Textor’s significant influence over both the south London club and French side Lyon. Despite Palace’s historic FA Cup victory over Manchester City — their first major trophy — the club failed to meet a March 1 deadline set by UEFA to prove a restructuring of ownership. As Lyon held a higher domestic league finish, UEFA’s Club Financial Control Body (CFCB) awarded them the Europa League place instead.
Fans marched with banners reading “UEFA: MORALLY BANKRUPT. REVOKE THE RULING NOW” and “Football: created by the poor, stolen by the rich,” calling attention to what they see as systemic flaws in football governance.
Palace may yet challenge UEFA’s decision at the Court of Arbitration for Sport. Meanwhile, a petition launched to reinstate the club into the Europa League has already amassed more than 3,000 signatures.
UEFA reportedly rejected attempts by Textor and fellow American co-owner David Blitzer to place their stakes in a blind trust — a workaround previously used to allow co-owned clubs to participate in European competitions. However, the March 1 deadline again proved pivotal.
Despite Textor stepping down as Lyon president and preparing to sell his Palace shares to New York Jets owner Woody Johnson — who has passed the Premier League’s Owners' and Directors' Test — UEFA deemed the move came too late to affect the competition eligibility.
Nottingham Forest, who finished seventh in the Premier League, are expected to replace Palace in the Europa League, though UEFA has not officially confirmed the change.
The Holmesdale Fanatics vowed that Tuesday's protest would not be the last, stating that their campaign is only beginning.
Featured Image Credit: Unsplash / Alexandre Brondino, Pexels / cottonbro studio
