Crystal Palace to prepare? For the first time in history, a club is banned from UEFA competitions due to multi-ownership

While all eyes in England are fixed on the fate of Crystal Palace's European campaign, a neighboring country to the United Kingdom has just witnessed a historic precedent in European football.

Details: The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in Lausanne has upheld UEFA’s decision to exclude Irish club Drogheda United from the upcoming UEFA Conference League season, citing a breach of multi-ownership rules. The CAS ruling is final and cannot be appealed.

Both Drogheda United and Danish side Silkeborg, who were set to participate in the Conference League, are owned by the same entity—the US-based investment group Trivela Group. The Irish club failed to meet the multi-ownership requirements as of the assessment date—March 1, 2025.

The CAS panel reviewed the evidence and determined that the change of the assessment date from June 3 to March 1, 2025 was properly communicated by UEFA, and that the club knew or should have known about this adjustment.

This marks the first time in history that a club has been excluded from UEFA competitions over a violation of the multi-ownership rule. Previously, clubs managed to circumvent the rule by "selling" shares, as Nottingham Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis had done in the past.

Reminder: Crystal Palace could also face a possible ban from European competitions due to the fact that the consortium led by American investor John Textor also owns French club Lyon.