Palace face FA investigation over fans’ banner at Forest match
Crystal Palace face an investigation from the English Football Association after their fans held up a graphic banner about Nottingham Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis during Sunday’s 1-1 draw at Selhurst Park.
There has been tension between the clubs all summer after both clubs indirectly went head-to-head for a place in this season’s Europa League and only earlier this month it was decided Forest would enter UEFA’s second-tier competition at the expense of Palace.
A white-hot atmosphere was anticipated for this fixture and Palace supporters in the Holmesdale End held aloft a banner of Marinakis, which depicted the Greek businessman holding a gun to the head of Forest captain Morgan Gibbs-White. The PA news agency reported the FA will look into the incident.
Palace clinched their place in the Europa League with a shock FA Cup triumph over Manchester City in May, but subsequently were excluded from the competition due due to previous co-owner John Textor holding a controlling interest in Lyon.
UEFA’s decision to rule that Textor held a controlling interest in two clubs in the Europa League only occurred after a drawn-out saga, with Marinakis reportedly writing to the governing body to raise concerns about Palace’s ownership.
Forest were first in line to benefit from Palace’s exclusion after they finished seventh in the Premier League and qualified for the Conference League.
After Palace were demoted to UEFA’s third-tier competition, they appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, but failed to overturn the decision and were consigned to Conference League football, whilst Forest received a last-minute promotion to the Europa League.
It set the scene for a fiery occasion when Forest made the trip to south London on Sunday and even though Marinakis did not attend the fixture at Selhurst Park, the Palace fans made their feelings clear.
The banner showed Marinakis with a gun to the head of Gibbs-White, after the Forest captain had looked set to leave to join Tottenham Hotspur earlier this summer only to perform a U-turn and agree a new contract at the Midlands club.
– Guéhi future at Palace uncertain amid Glasner, Parish comments
– Glasner bemoans Eze move late in transfer window
– Grading biggest completed transfers of the summer window
A litany of allegations were also written on the banner, which the Forest owner has always strongly denied.
The FA will investigate the matter with Law 12 stating supporters are not able to display messages which are “provocative, derisory or inflammatory.”