Nottingham Forest send in legal team to fight Crystal Palace's Europa League appeal as battle over UEFA multi-club ownership ruling heads to court
Mail Sport understands that officials at the City Ground have decided to send legal counsel to Switzerland, where the high-stakes hearing is due to take place next week at the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
While not unprecedented, the move may well hint at how seriously those at Forest are taking the matter. They say they are responding 'accordingly'.
FA Cup winners Palace were due to play in the Europa League following their victory at Wembley over Manchester City.
However, UEFA ruled that they had breached the organisation's rules on multi-club ownership and their spot was instead handed to Forest, who had been in the Europa Conference League after finishing seventh in the Premier League.
Palace were removed from the Europa League because of the presence in the same competition of French side Lyon, who were owned by US businessman John Textor.
Textor's Eagle Football Holdings held a 43 per cent stake in Palace and a UEFA panel ruled that the situation had broken their rules. As a result, Palace effectively swapped places with Forest and were 'demoted' to the Conference League.
Palace are appealing against UEFA, Forest and Lyon. They want to be reinstated into the competition and for either Forest or Lyon to be kicked out.
It is understood that a key part of Palace's argument is their belief that Forest were given extra time beyond UEFA's March 1 deadline to address their own multi-club ownership issues.
At one stage, when it appeared that both Forest and Greek side Olympiakos - who also owned by Evangelos Marinakis - could qualify for the Champions League.
Marinakis effectively placed Forest into a blind trust in an attempt to navigate the rules, but documents lodged at Companies House show that the move was made on April 29.
As Mail Sport reported earlier Palace, who were held to the March 1 deadline, will demand full disclosure of what they believe are bombshell documents and texts between UEFA and Forest which they believe could 'prove' double standards have been at play.
Given Forest's view that they met deadlines in good time, Eagles officials believe there should be no issue in handing the documents over.
As things transpired, Forest failed to qualify for the Champions League and Marinakis was promptly reinstated as a 'person with significant control' of NF Football Investments Ltd, the vehicle that owns Forest, on June 6.
'Nottingham Forest has been formally named as a respondent in Crystal Palace's appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) concerning a UEFA decision,' a Forest spokesperson said. 'As such, the club is required to participate in the proceedings and has instructed legal counsel accordingly.'
Aside from what they view as the differential treatment of Forest, Palace are also likely to again argue that Textor was not in a position of influence during his time at Selhurst Park.
The American has since sold the company's stake to compatriot Woody Johnson, but his share only granted him 25 per cent of voting rights, with chairman Steve Parish and co-owners David Blitzer and Josh Harris holding the other 75 per cent.
Given the latter two are believed to act as silent partners and entrust Parish with running the show, Palace will argue that Textor did not have the power to wield any influence.
CAS will expedite the case. The draw for the Conference League play-off, which Palace are currently due to be in, takes place next Monday.
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The Independent
2 minutes ago
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Metro
32 minutes ago
- Metro
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To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video 'When she went off you could see it. She's so sweet and she's saying thank you to everybody but you can see it in her mind, she must be thinking, 'What the f***'s going on?! What are you taking me off for?!' 'In the end, she's very fortunate. She's obviously shown she's a great coach with three European Championships on the spin. That's legendary. 'But some of the decisions… you're thinking to yourself, 'If that's what you're doing on purpose because you see the outcome in your head then you are a genius!', but she is a genius with what she's done.' Wright was similarly taken aback that Wiegman opted to 'gamble' on Lauren James' fitness when she had a player of Kelly's quality raring to go the start. 'With Lauren James, it's a Euros final. If she thinks, 'You know what? If I can get something out of myself I might be able to do it', then you're going to play,' he continued. 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Daily Mirror
33 minutes ago
- Daily Mirror
Chloe Kelly's odds slashed to win SPOTY after Euro 2025 triumph
Euro 2025 hero Chloe Kelly is now one of the front runners to win this year's Sports Personality of the Year Award and even ahead of Masters winner Rory McIlroy with some bookies Chloe Kelly, the footballer who secured back-to-back European Championships for the Lionesses, has had her odds slashed to this year's Sports Personality of the Year Award as the England continue their celebrations. The Arsenal forward's winning penalty in Switzerland helped secure England's second successive win in Europe as the Lionesses beat Spain on penalties. The London-born striker played such a crucial role despite not starting in any of the matches for England and now finds herself 6/4 with most bookies to win the Sports Personality of the Year Award, just a nose behind golfer Rory McIlroy who secured his career Grand Slam by winning the Masters. Other Lionesses in contention include goalkeeper Hannah Hampton - whose heroics between the sticks saved two penalties as Spain failed to convert their chances from the spot - at 13/2 while Lucy Bronze - who played the duration of the tournament with a fractured tibia - is 20/1 to win this year's prize. William Hill's spokesperson Lee Phelps said: 'Chloe Kelly was so inspiring in the Lionesses' victories in the quarter and semi-finals, yet before the final kicked-off she was 20/1 to win 2025 BBC Sports Personality Of The Year. However, after helping secure historic back-to-back Euros for the Lionesses with an assist and a winning penalty, Kelly is now just 6/4 second favourite behind Rory McIlroy (5/4) for SPOTY glory. 'Hannah Hampton has been equally impressive coming into the squad relatively late and helping the team to win shootouts against Sweden and Spain. After two crucial penalty saves in the final, her price has also plummeted to 13/2 from 33/1.' Yet for others, Kelly has emerged as the new favourite and tipped to win the trophy ahead of the Masters winner with bookmakers Coral listing the former Man City player to join the likes of Beth Mead and Mary Earps to have won the accolade. 'After holding her nerve to score the winning penalty in the women's Euros final, Chloe Kelly is the new favourite to win the 2025 BBC Personality of the Year Award,' said Coral's John Hill. 'The Lionesses could dominate the award ceremony this year, with goalkeeper Hannah Hampton and captain Leah Williamson at the top end of the betting,' Hill added. The 27-year-old did not start in any of the Lionesses matches during their Euro 2025 campaign but secured two assists and the winner against Italy deep into extra-time which helped secure their place in the final against Spain to set up a rematch after the World Cup heartache just two years prior. One of her assists came when it mattered most in the final as her cross from the wing found Alessia Russo's head to equalise and the turn game around as England controlled the majority of the match after the striker's equaliser. To top off her performance in the final, Kelly secured back-to-back winner status by scoring the winning penalty - echoing her significance in the 2022 Euros where she scored the winner against Germany in extra-time. Sports Personality of the Year Awards Rory McIlroy - 5/4 Chloe Kelly - 6/4 Hannah Hampton - 13/2 Luke Littler - 12/1 Lando Norris - 14/1 Lucy Bronze - 20/1 BAR - 28/1 18+ | Gamble responsibly | | Odds subject to change Football Betting Offers If you are on the lookout for the latest free bet offers, then look no further. Here, not only do we bring you numerous free bet offers, but all from the very best betting sites in the industry. Each bookie we recommend is fully licensed and regulated by the UK Gambling Commission, so you know you are always betting on a safe and trustworthy site. Check out the Mirror Betting Hubs Free Bets offers here. Gamble responsibly Reach plc is committed to promoting safer gambling. All of our content and recommended bets are advised to those aged 18 or over. Odds are subject to change too. We strongly encourage our readers to only ever bet what they can afford to lose. For more information, please call the National Gambling Helpline on 0808 8020 133 or visit
