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Crystal Palace to appeal UEFA's Europa League demotion ruling

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Was UEFA's punishment to Crystal Palace too harsh? (1:25)

Gab Marcotti and Rob Palmer debate if UEFA's punishment to Crystal Palace was too harsh. (1:25)

Crystal Palace will appeal UEFA's decision to demote them to the Conference League due to ownership rules infringements, chairman Steve Parish has said.

UEFA's Club Financial Control Body (CFCB) ruled the Premier League club was too closely linked to Lyon, with both clubs having qualified for the Europa League.

Due to Lyon finishing higher than Palace in their respective league, it is the French club that are allowed to remain in the competition, with the London side demoted to Europe's third-tier tournament.

"We are still fighting," Parish told the The Rest is Football podcast. "There's an appeal process, so we go to CAS which is the court for arbitration and, you know, we're very hopeful. We think we've got great legal arguments.

"We don't think this is the right decision by any means. We know unequivocally that John [Textor] didn't have decisive influence over the club.

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"We know we proved that beyond all reasonable doubt because it's a fact."

Premier League side Nottingham Forest will take Palace's place in the Europa League next season.

The ownership rules infringement stems from John Textor, the majority owner and chairman of Eagle Football Holdings. Before March 1, the group had a 77% stake in Lyon and a 43.9% share of Palace.

UEFA's regulations take issue with any dual holding above 30%, even though Palace argued that Textor had no role in the running of the Premier League club.