CRYSTAL Palace’s worst Europa League fears have been confirmed after they were booted OUT of the competition by Uefa chiefs.
FA Cup winners Palace have paid the price for being in the same multi-club ownership group as French giants Lyon after the Uefa disengagement deadline of April 30.
Their fate was sealed on Wednesday, when Lyon won their appeal against relegation from Ligue 1.
Uefa regulations state that when clubs that are part of the same ownership umbrella, the team that finished highest in its domestic championship takes priority.
Now Uefa chiefs have ruled that Palace must play in the Conference League and make a European bow in a play-off next month – with Nottingham Forest promoted in their place.
And it will cost Palace an immediate £3.9m in Uefa appearance money – boosting Forest by the same amount.
The news, while expected, will be a devastating blow to the Eagles – although they are certain to appeal to the Swiss-based Court of Arbitration for Sport in a bid to get the ruling overturned.
Palace’s joy at their Wembley triumph over Manchester City was swiftly tempered by the realisation of the complications over US businessman John Textor’s Eagle Football Group owning 44.9 per cent of the Selhurst Park club.
Eagle also included Lyon, who finished sixth in Ligue 1 to qualify for the Europa League, Brazilians Botofogo and Belgian outfit Molenbeek.
While Textor was effectively ostracised from the decision-making process at Selhurst by chairman Steve Parish and US investors Josh Harris and Dave Blitzer, his stake meant Palace fell foul of Uefa rules.
Palace did not qualify for their first European campaign until their Wembley win on May 17, 17 days after the Uefa deadline for boardroom reorganisation that would have ensured no potential conflicts of interests between clubs in the same competition.
Parish and the Selhurst hierarchy have frantically lobbied for leeway, arguing that Textor was only a “significant” shareholder in terms of his stake, not his influence.
Manchester United owners Ineos parked their shares in French side Nice in a blind trust to allow both to play in the Europa League last season.
And Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis stepped back from any official role at the City Ground in April, to meet the Uefa requirements, when he hoped the East Midlanders would qualify for the Champions League alongside Greek side Olympiacos.
Last month, Textor announced he had sold his Palace shares to New York Jets owner and former US ambassador to the UK Woody Johnson in a £190m deal, although that has still to be ratified by the Premier League.
But it was not enough for Uefa to budge, having huge ramifications for BOTH Prem clubs.
Unless their CAS appeal succeeds, Palace will have to play a two-legged qualifying round, with the first game on August 21.
If they go through, Palace’s up-front prize money for taking part in Uefa’s third competition will be £5.22m, with their maximum earnings £18.4m.
In contrast, in addition to going directly through to the initial eight-match league phase of the stage and earning £9.1m up front, Forest could earn a further maximum £24.4m.
An extra quirk that will impact both clubs is that Palace host Forest at Selhurst on Sunday August 24, a match that was originally moved back 24 hours because the City Ground club were scheduled to be in Conference League action.
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