Crystal Palace fans protest, set off flares against UEFA's decision

Today (July 16), hundreds of Crystal Palace fans gathered outside Selhurst Park to condemn the decision of the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) to exclude their team from next season's Europa League.

Crowds were furious at the decision and marched through the streets of south London, waving anti-UEFA banners. Some fans also lit flares, creating a chaotic scene on the streets.

Fans held up banners reading "UEFA. Morally bankrupt. Cancel the decision now".

Crystal Palace qualified for the 2025-26 Europa League, after winning the FA Cup in May. But were disqualified by UEFA due to multiple ownership rules.

The problem is that Mr John Textor owns shares in Crystal Palace and French club Lyon. Both teams also qualified for the tournament.

Textor then sold its 43% stake in Palace, in a desperate attempt to fix the problem. But that came months after UEFA's March 1 deadline to provide evidence of a multi-club ownership restructuring.

Crystal Palace are appealing to the Court of Arbitration for Sport in a bid to overturn the ruling. However, if they fail, they will be relegated to the Europa Conference League.

Their last European appearance was in the Intertoto Cup in 1998. But the chance to play in the Europa League is one they feel they fully deserve.

As things stand, Nottingham Forest are the team that has qualified for the Conference League, and through the Premier League will secure a place in Europe's second-tier competition.

UEFA regulations in the case of multiple teams under the same owner, if they both qualify for European competitions, the club with the higher ranking in the domestic league will win the place to participate.

So Lyon finished 6th to Palace's 12th, so they secured a place in the Europa League.