The FA Cup champion also missed the UEFA Cup!

The FA Cup champion also missed the UEFA Cup! Crystal Palace failed to appeal and confirmed its participation in the UEFA Champions League. After winning the England Community Shield Championship, Crystal Palace received bad news: despite winning the 2025 FA Cup, they still cannot qualify for the UEFA Champions League.

On August 11, 2025, the International Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) officially rejected Crystal Palace's appeal request and upheld UEFA's ruling on July 12: Although Crystal Palace won the 2025 FA Cup, they can only participate in the UEFA League, not the UEFA Cup, which was originally a FA Cup champion.

Reason: The boss is associated with the club and violates UEFA regulations

UEFA's explanation is that Crystal Palace and Ligue 1 team Lyon belong to the group of investor John Texto. During the assessment period, Tekesto admitted to holding shares and having decision-making power over both clubs, while UEFA stipulates that clubs controlled by the same owner are prohibited from participating in the same European competition.

Although Textork sold his shares in Lyon before the March 1 deadline, UEFA determined that he still had "significant influence" on Lyon, so he judged that Crystal Palace was not eligible for the UEFA Cup. The UEFA Cup qualification, which originally belonged to Crystal Palace, was postponed to Nottingham Forest, which ranked higher in the league, while Crystal Palace was "relegated" to the European Union.

The appeal failed and the fairness dispute was rejected

At the hearing held in Lausanne, Switzerland last week, the arbitration court also rejected the allegations of Crystal Palace's "injust unfair treatment", believing that UEFA's ruling procedures were not unfair, and whether it was in the case of Lyon or Nottingham Forest, the handling was in compliance with the regulations.

Crystal Palace Club management said they will "seriously consider the next legal approach", but the results are now a foregone conclusion.

Goalkeeper Dean Henderson could not hide his loss: "We deserve to participate in the Europa League. After waiting for more than 120 years, this is a huge blow to the fans."

This bad news came particularly heartbreaking - just recently, Crystal Palace defeated Liverpool 4-2 through a penalty shootout in the Community Shield to win the championship. And the reason they were able to participate in the Community Shield was because they defeated Manchester City in the FA Cup final to win the championship. Usually, the FA Cup champion automatically qualifies for the UEFA Cup, but this time, it failed due to UEFA's club ownership rules.