Crystal Palace finally had the last laugh after a season filled with legal battles, European controversy and frustration behind the scenes.
The Eagles defeated Rayo Vallecano in Leipzig on Wednesday night to win the Conference League and secure another place in Europe next season.
Jean-Philippe Mateta scored the winning goal as Oliver Glasner lifted his third trophy in the space of a year.
However, much of the emotion after the final centred around everything Palace endured before the competition even began.
The club originally qualified for the Europa League after winning the FA Cup earlier in the season.
Still, UEFA later removed Palace from the competition because of multi-club ownership regulations linked to former shareholder John Textor, whose group also owned Lyon.
Because Lyon finished higher domestically, the French side received priority. Palace were eventually pushed down into the Conference League instead.
Nottingham Forest then replaced them in the Europa League after reportedly pushing strongly for Palace’s removal during the legal process.
Now, after winning the Conference League, Palace chairman Steve Parish appeared to take a subtle swipe at both UEFA and Forest. Speaking after the final, Parish said (quotes via The Daily Mail):
“To be in Europe, travelling round Europe is one thing but to come and win it is incredible and it hasn’t really sunk in. It just shows that sometimes the good guys win in the end, I think.”
Forest had reportedly enlisted their own legal team during Palace’s appeal process at the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
Palace officials also believed UEFA applied different standards regarding ownership deadlines involving Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis and Olympiakos.
At one stage, both clubs risked breaching UEFA’s multi-club ownership rules. However, Marinakis temporarily placed Forest into a blind trust structure.
Palace argued they were not given the same flexibility regarding deadlines linked to Textor’s involvement.
Despite losing the appeal, Palace ultimately turned the setback into history by winning their first European trophy.
Now, Palace will return to the Europa League next season as Conference League champions. But Forest will miss out on European football entirely after finishing 16th in the Premier League.
Want to get the latest transfer news direct to your phone? Join our WhatsApp community by clicking here.
