Nottingham Forest set for Europa League fight as Crystal Palace accuse UEFA of ‘double standards’.
Nottingham Forest were promoted into the Europa League after Crystal Palace’s breach of UEFA’s multi-club ownership rules, but the FA Cup winners are not taking the decision lightly.
Palace were demoted to the Conference League after UEFA ruled that John Textor held decisive influence at both The Eagles and Lyon, with the French side retaining their Europa League spot due to a higher league finish.
However, Palace owner Steve Parish believes Forest played a part in their punishment, which Palace intend to appeal at the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
As they look to formulate their legal argument, it seems as if Forest’s involvement is set to be front and centre of Palace’s grievances with UEFA, with some serious allegations being aimed at Evangelos Marinakis and the club.
Nottingham Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis ahead of the FA Cup semi-final
Photo by Michael Regan – The FA/The FA via Getty Images
Crystal Palace make ‘double standards’ claim about UEFA and Nottingham Forest
Forest are set to earn big from a Europa League run so it’s no surprise that Palace are fighting UEFA’s ruling with everything they have. However, it looks as if their appeal case won’t necessarily focus on Textor’s influence.
Revealed by the Daily Mail, Palace are set to argue that Forest have received favourable treatment from UEFA, stemming from how Marinakis was able to comply with the multi-club rules.
The report said: “Crystal Palace are set to demand full disclosure of what they believe are bombshell emails and texts between UEFA and Nottingham Forest – which they believe could ‘prove’ double standards have been applied over their European demotion.
“Eagles officials are of the firm view that correspondence exists between the two potentially showing that Forest, unlike Palace, were allowed to extend the March 1 deadline to comply with UEFA’s rules on multi-club ownership.”
“Mail Sport understands that Palace, who will appeal the decision to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), will now demand UEFA hand over correspondence between themselves and Forest. Such documents, if presented to a CAS panel, could potentially result in Palace’s reinstatement to the Europa League.”
Marinakis placed his control of Forest in a blind trust to avoid any potential crossover with Olympiacos, which would’ve resulted in an identical punishment for the Reds if they qualified for the Champions League.
It’s this concept of a ‘blind trust’ that lies at the heart of Palace’s accusations, and the report details a timeline that Parish may be able to use in his club’s favour at the CAS appeal.
Crystal Palace may have a case as UEFA communications details revealed
In terms of navigating UEFA’s multi-club ownership rules. Marinakis did all the right things to make sure that no such issue that has plagued Palace could impact his clubs.
However, the report continued to reveal that Palace believe they didn’t have the same guidance as Forest and other clubs to avoid a breach.
The report said: “The development comes after it emerged that the European Club Association, which effectively runs European football with UEFA, had emailed its member sides to tell them that the March 1 deadline was not sacrosanct.
“In the email, first reported by the Telegraph, the ECA inform their clubs that UEFA would allow until May 31 for those at-risk to resolve any issues.
“Palace believe Hugo Hamon, Head of Finance Strategy and Operations at the ECA, advised those affected on how to set up a ‘blind trust’ to essentially navigate the rules.
Palace say the only communication from UEFA was sent to a generic email address, and that there were no reminders. They are not a member of the ECA and so would not have received the additional guidance from the ECA about the deadline.
“While Forest are not an ECA member, Olympiakos, who are also owned by Evangelos Marinakis, are.”
If Palace are able to prove that the likes of Forest were aided in the setting up of blind trusts and given additional clarity on the situation as a whole, then they will give CAS a serious decision to make about the Europa League spot.
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