UEFA make major Crystal Palace Europa League decision as Aston Villa watch on

Aston Villa will not be facing Crystal Palace in the Europa League next season.

That’s because UEFA has demoted the FA Cup winners to the Conference League, with Nottingham Forest now likely to join Villa in the Europa League instead.

The First Chamber of the UEFA Club Financial Control Body (CFCB) opened proceedings against Palace and Lyon due to a potential conflict with the multi-club ownership rule outlined in Article 5 of the UEFA Club Competitions Regulations.

‌In a decision published on Friday afternoon, the CFCB accepted Lyon’s admission to the Europa League and, as a result, rejected Palace’s entry. Palace have instead been admitted to the Conference League.

The CFCB determined that American businessman John Textor’s ownership interests in both Palace and Lyon meant that only one of the clubs could participate in the Europa League. Lyon, having finished higher in their domestic league, were given priority.

UEFA has not yet officially confirmed that Forest will replace Palace, though that is the expected outcome.

Palace had originally qualified for the Europa League by defeating Manchester City in the FA Cup final.

They reached the final after beating Villa 3–0 in the semi-finals—one of four victories they have secured over Unai Emery’s side since the final day of the 2023/24 campaign.

Villa are winless in their last five matches against Palace, conceding 16 goals in those encounters.