Crystal Palace Fans Begin Series Of Protests Over Europa League Exclusion

Crystal Palace supporters marched through the streets of London Tuesday evening to protest against UEFA’s decision to exclude the Eagles from the Europa League.

Hundreds of fans of the south London club gathered at the clock tower in Norwood before marching to Selhurst Park, carrying a banner that read: “UEFA: Morally bankrupt. Revoke the ruling now.”

“UEFA has taken something away from us unjustly. And we’re not going to f—ing stand for it,” said a spokesman for the Holmesdale Fanatics, an ultras-style supporters’ group that organized Tuesday’s protest.

“This is Crystal Palace’s first outing in Europe, and if it was Man City, Liverpool or Real Madrid, there wouldn’t be no such problems,” he added.

The group’s spokesman also said that Tuesday’s march was just the beginning of a series of protests, and they plan to send a delegation to UEFA’s headquarters to continue their campaign for justice.

Palace had qualified for the Europa League when they won the FA Cup, the first major trophy in the club’s century-plus history. But UEFA announced last week that Palace was barred from entering next season’s Europa League for breaching its rule on multi-club ownership. UEFA’s rules set a deadline of March 1 for clubs to prove that no individual or entity has “control or influence” over two teams competing in the same competition.

At the time of UEFA’s deadline, American businessman John Textor owned a 43% stake in Palace, while also holding a 77% stake in French club Lyon, who had also qualified for the Europa League.

Palace had argued that Textor does not have decisive influence at the club because his investment in Palace only entitles him to the same 25% voting rights held by fellow co-owners Steve Parish, David Blitzer and Josh Harris. But UEFA’s Club Financial Control Body (CFCB) did not accept the club’s argument.

Lyon had been provisionally relegated to the French second division because of the poor state of the club’s finances, a decision that meant that they would not be able to participate in the Europa League. But last week, the French club won their appeal against relegation after Textor’s investment vehicle Eagle Football Holdings received a cash injection of €87 million ($100 million) from shareholders and a bank guarantee for another €30 million.

Lyon takes precedence over Palace because they finished in a higher position in their league. The seven-time French champions finished sixth in Ligue 1, whereas Palace was 12th in the Premier League.

In June, Textor signed an agreement to sell his stake in Palace to Robert “Woody” Johnson, the billionaire co-owner of the NFL’s New York Jets and former ambassador to the U.K. That deal was approved by the Premier League last week, Parish said in an interview with Sky News, and he estimated that the transaction would be completed this week.

“The club was up for sale before the first of March [UEFA’s deadline]. Now, we have completed the sale,” Parish said. “This is the thing that would be even more ridiculous to most football fans: Eagle Football will be a million miles away from us by the time the tournament starts in September.”

UEFA’s decision to strip Palace of its place in the Europa League was “the most ridiculous technicality you could ever imagine,” Parish said. He also reiterated that the club was likely to lodge an appeal at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).

As it stands now, Palace will compete in Europe’s third-tier competition, the UEFA Conference League, a far less lucrative tournament, and their place in the Europa League will go to Nottingham Forest.

But Palace supporters are vowing to continue their fight. The Holmesdale Fanatics said, “We won the FA Cup. We should be going into the Europa League. That’s the bottom line.”