Nottingham Forest petitions UEFA over Crystal Palace’s Europa League spot

Nottingham Forest has officially reached out to UEFA seeking clarity on Crystal Palace’s eligibility for the 2025–26 Europa League.

The request is rooted in concerns over a possible conflict with UEFA’s multi-club ownership regulations.

Crystal Palace secured a historic berth in European competition after lifting the FA Cup.

However, their qualification could be under scrutiny due to ownership links with Eagle Football Holdings—an investment group chaired by American businessman John Textor.

Eagle Football currently owns a 43% stake in Crystal Palace, while also holding a controlling 77% interest in French side Olympique Lyonnais.

Lyon has likewise secured a spot in the Europa League for the upcoming season, creating a potential breach of UEFA’s rules that prohibit clubs with the same ownership group from competing in the same European tournament to protect the integrity of the competition.

UEFA is expected to review the matter closely, with decisions likely to set a precedent amid growing concerns over multi-club ownership models in modern football.

UEFA regulations prohibit any individual or entity from holding majority voting rights in two clubs competing in the same European competition to prevent potential conflicts of interest or collusion.

Forest, who finished seventh in the Premier League and secured a Europa Conference League play-off place, could be promoted to the Europa League if Palace are deemed ineligible.

According to BBC Sport sources, Forest submitted their concerns to UEFA ahead of the March 1 deadline introduced to improve oversight of club ownership structures. The previous deadline of June 1 had reportedly been too late to ensure proper vetting.

Crystal Palace have maintained that they operate entirely independently of Lyon, despite the shared ownership structure. The club assert that there has been no overlap in employees, staff, strategy or commercial dealings between the two clubs.

Palace’s defence rests on the merit of their FA Cup win—beating Manchester City 1–0 last month—and their claim that no functional or operational ties exist with Lyon.

Forest themselves previously faced a similar issue due to their owner, Evangelos Marinakis, also controlling Olympiakos and Rio Ave. However, he diluted his stake in Forest to comply with UEFA’s rules ahead of the deadline.

UEFA and Crystal Palace have both declined to comment on the matter. A decision will need to be made before European qualifiers begin in July.