Crystal Palace ultras deliver suitcase of fake money to Uefa HQ in protest to Europa League ruling

Aggrieved Crystal Palace fans have taken their protests directly to Uefa’s doorstep, flying out to the governing body’s Switzerland headquarters to fight against their club’s demotion from the Europa League to the Conference League.

Palace had qualified for the Europa League through their stunning FA Cup victory over Man City, a historic first major trophy in the club’s history.

However, Uefa has ordered the Eagles to play in the third-tier European competition for breaching multi-club ownership rules. The club crucially missed a March 1 deadline to demonstrate that American co-owner John Textor, also a part-owner at Lyon, had no control or influence over more than one club in the same competition.

Uefa’s Club Financial Control Body (CFCB) decided Textor’s interest in both clubs meant only one could enter the Europa League, with Lyon’s higher league position of sixth edging out Palace, who finished the Premier League campaign in 12th. Nottingham Forest are expected to benefit from the Eagles’ demotion, replacing them in the Europa League following their seventh-place league finish.

After hundreds of supporters made their feelings clear in an initial protest outside Selhurst Park, The Independent understands that members of Palace ultras Holmesdale Fanatics - who organised the first march - today travelled to Uefa’s HQ in Nyon, Switzerland to combat the perceived injustice head-on.

It was revealed in a statement that they gained access to the building to hand deliver a letter addressed to Uefa president Aleksander Ceferin, which demanded a reversal of “this moral injustice” and Palace’s reinstatement into the Europa League.

The group also presented Uefa with a suitcase of fake money, which represented “the contradictions between their supposed ‘fundamental values’ of integrity and fairness, and the reality of their business methods and general conduct”.

Uefa declined to comment when approached by The Independent.

Following the protest in Nyon, they travelled to the Lausanne headquarters of the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) to reiterate their desire to have the ruling overturned.

This came less than two hours before CAS confirmed that Palace had lodged an appeal against Uefa, Forest and Lyon regarding the alleged breach of multi-club ownership regulations.

The appeal procedure will be expedited with a decision expected on or before August 11.