Oliver Glasner admitted Crystal Palace’s possible demotion to the Conference League “feels like we are punished, but being innocent” ahead of Monday’s legal verdict to seal their European fate.
As the Eagles boss was speaking in London, 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, presenting arguments they hope will restore the FA Cup winners’ place in Uefa’s second-tier competition.
Parish told reporters outside the court in Lausanne on Friday that he was confident the club’s case was a strong one and hoped they would be given a fair hearing.
“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 were demoted from the Europa League to the Conference League by Uefa on 11 July after it determined that as of 1 March, American businessman John Textor had control or influence at Palace and French club Lyon.
Uefa rules state that where one or more clubs are deemed to have common ownership, they cannot play in the same competition. Lyon edged out Palace for the sole Europa League place because they finished higher than Palace in the league.
Textor sold his stake in Palace to New York Jets owner Woody Johnson, a deal completed in late July.
Glasner insists that the off-pitch battle has not affected preparations or the mood in training ahead of the upcoming campaign, with his side set to open their season against Liverpool in Sunday’s Community Shield at Wembley.
“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 pre-season and training, worked very hard. We said, OK, on the 11th of August we will get the final verdict, and we will accept it, so it’s the only thing we can do.”
Glasner is also adamant that the uncertainty over which European competition they will enter has not put potential recruits off, though he is rumoured to be unhappy with the Eagles’ limited business so far this summer.
“We have to [recruit],” he added. “It’s not as I read, ‘the wish of the gaffer, it’s a promise’. No. It’s all about Crystal Palace. If Crystal Palace wants to play European football, wants to play for competitions, wants to climb the Premier League table, wants to reproduce that success again, it’s just what you have to do.
“Everybody knows this in this building.”
