Crystal Palace has officially been excluded from the 2025/26 UEFA Europa League. The Eagles will instead participate in the UEFA Europa Conference League.
The decision was announced by UEFA on Friday evening, July 11, 2025, following a thorough review concerning dual ownership issues involving both Crystal Palace and French club Olympique Lyon.
Both clubs are linked to American businessman John Textor, who holds significant ownership stakes in each. Under UEFA regulations, clubs with the same majority owner are not allowed to compete in the same UEFA competition to prevent potential conflicts of interest.
UEFA had initially set a deadline of March 1, 2025, for Crystal Palace to provide sufficient evidence that Textor no longer exercised control over the club. However, the governing body concluded that Palace failed to meet the requirement, resulting in their relegation to the Europa Conference League.
In an effort to comply with UEFA rules, Textor had sold 42% of his shares in Palace to fellow American businessman Woody Johnson. Nevertheless, UEFA ruled that the transaction could not yet be recognized as official, as it is still under review by the Premier League a process expected to take up to two months.
Ultimately, UEFA granted the Europa League spot to Olympique Lyon, as the French side finished higher in their domestic league standings. While Crystal Palace secured a place in Europe by winning the FA Cup, they finished only 12th in the Premier League. Lyon, by contrast, ended their season in sixth place in Ligue 1.
This development is a boost for Lyon, who had recently avoided relegation to Ligue 2 due to financial difficulties but will now take part in European competition.
As a result, Crystal Palace’s Europa League slot will go to Nottingham Forest, who finished seventh in the Premier League and were originally set to compete in the Conference League. Aston Villa, who finished sixth, remain England’s other representative in the Europa League.
According to The Athletic, Crystal Palace plans to appeal UEFA’s decision to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in an effort to reclaim their Europa League place.
