Four Crystal Palace players could immediately leave club after brutal UEFA Europa League verdict
Up to four players may leave Crystal Palace as the Eagles lost their appeal against being demoted from the UEFA Europa League to the UEFA Conference League at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).
Sunday was an afternoon of joy for those associated with Crystal Palace as the London club won the FA Community Shield after a penalty shootout victory against Premier League champions Liverpool.
But the club were brought back down to earth on Monday as they learned of the result of their appeal against being demoted to the Conference League due to breaches of UEFA’s multi-club ownership rules.
The Eagles qualified for the Europa League after winning the 2024/25 FA Cup back in May, but were demoted due to UEFA’s rules, with Nottingham Forest provisionally taking their place.
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John Textor's Eagle Football Group owned a 43 per cent stake in Palace and 77 per cent of Lyon at the time, with both clubs having qualified for the Europa League.
After UEFA’s original ruling, Palace launched an appeal with CAS.
On Monday, the result of the appeal emerged, as CAS confirmed Nottingham Forest’s Europa League spot in place of Palace, who lost their appeal.
A statement released by CAS read: “The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has dismissed an appeal by
“Crystal Palace FC (CPFC) against UEFA, Nottingham Forest FC and Olympique Lyonnais (OL) concerning a decision by UEFA to remove CPFC from the UEFA Europa League 2025/2026 due to a breach of UEFA multi-club ownership regulations. As a result, CPFC will be admitted to compete in the UEFA Conference League 2025/2026.
“The appeal sought to annul the decision by the UEFA Club Financial Control Body on 11 July 2025, which found CPFC and OL non-compliant with multi-club ownership regulations. Alongside the annulment of the decision, CPFC requested readmission to the UEFA Europa League with Nottingham Forest or OL’s admission rejected.”
So, what does this mean for Palace?
The obvious question is, will players be forced or even choose to move on after the ruling?
Sky Sports’ Kaveh Solhekol reported that losing the appeal may make it “more difficult” to keep hold of in-demand players Eberechi Eze, Jean-Philippe Mateta, Adam Wharton and Marc Guehi as relegation to UEFA’s third-tier competition means a likely revenue loss of up to £20m.
Eze has been the subject of interest from Arsenal this summer and has a reported £67.5m in his contract – although this is set to expire before August 16.
Forward Mateta has been tentatively linked with both Liverpool and Manchester United although it is unlikely that he will sign for either this summer.
Meanwhile, captain Guehi has been heavily linked with the Premier League champions, with Palace chairman Steve Parish admitting that he could be sold this summer to avoid the England man leaving for free in June 2026.
"We'd have to do that, of course," said Parish on Sunday.
"For players of that calibre to leave on a free, it's a problem for us, unfortunately.”
Midfielder Wharton has impressed in recent years and is considered an alternative to Carlos Baleba for Manchester United, according to the MEN. The report also claims that the 21-year-old has a ‘gentleman’s agreement’ with the Eagles to leave next summer.
Topics: Crystal Palace, Europa League, Marc Guehi, Transfer News, Football, Transfers, Premier League
Luke Davies