Crystal Palace ‘Punished But Innocent’ Ahead Of Europa League Demotion Decision, Says Glasner

Crystal Palace's potential demotion to the Europa Conference League makes Oliver Glasner feel like his side "are punished, but innocent".

Glasner's side are awaiting the conclusion of their legal hearing on Monday, which will confirm whether Conference League or Europa League football is on the cards at Selhurst Park for the 2025-26 season.

Palace chairman Steve Parish and the club's lawyers were in session at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in Switzerland for their appeal hearing on Friday, presenting arguments they hope will restore the FA Cup winners' place in UEFA's second-tier competition.

"If you get punished when you feel innocent, it's tough," said Glasner.

"And it feels like this. If we play Conference League it feels like we are punished, but being innocent. On the other side, if we had ended the season on position seven and go straight into the Conference League, we all would have celebrated.

"So these are the two feelings we have. But again, if you haven't done something wrong and you feel punished, you never feel good. So I think it's all of us, it's the same, and this is how we feel, or how we felt about the UEFA decision."

Palace chief Parish expressed confidence in the club's case to reporters outside the court in Lausanne, telling Sky Sports News he hoped "good sense will prevail".

This comes after the Eagles were demoted from the Europa League to the Conference League by UEFA on July 11, after the governing body determined John Textor had control or influence at Palace and Lyon.

UEFA rules state that if one or more clubs are deemed to have common ownership, they cannot play in the same competition, which saw Lyon edge out Palace for the sole Europa League place due to their higher Ligue 1 finish.

Palace's defence is based on Textor selling his stake in the Premier League club to New York Jets owner Woody Johnson, a deal completed in late July.

Glasner insists that the off-pitch ongoings have not affected preparations or the mood ahead of Palace opening their season against Liverpool in Sunday's Community Shield at Wembley Stadium.

"No, not at all," he said. "The first meeting we had after, when we met, it was just mentioned once. One slogan for us is 'we want to focus on the things we can influence', and so we can't influence the decision of UEFA, we have no influence on the decision of CAS.

"So it just makes no sense, and the players really did very well the whole preseason and training, worked very hard. We said, OK, on August 11 we will get the final verdict, and we will accept it, so it's the only thing we can do."