Crystal Palace excluded from the Europa League

Crystal Palace, who qualified for the 2025/26 Europa League by winning the FA Cup, will not be able to take part in the tournament. UEFA has decided to exclude the London club from the Europa League due to a conflict of interest with French side Lyon, who also qualified for the same competition.

Crystal Palace’s main owner, John Textor, until recently also had control over Lyon. Although the French club changed ownership in June, the deal was finalized after March 1, 2025 — the key date set by UEFA for resolving such conflicts.

According to UEFA regulations, two clubs with the same owner cannot compete in the same European competition. As a result, Crystal Palace has been moved to the Europa Conference League and will start from the play-off round. Their place in the Europa League group stage goes to Nottingham Forest, who finished seventh in the 2024/25 Premier League.

In theory, Crystal Palace could face Armenian clubs in the Conference League, except for Noah, who are on the Champions Path.