Crystal Palace have said "sporting merit is rendered meaningless" after losing their appeal against demotion from the Europa League to the Conference League.

After winning the FA Cup last season, Palace qualified for Europe's secondary competition but were punished by UEFA for breaching multi-club ownership rules.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) sided with Europe's governing body on Monday.

In a strongly worded statement, Palace said it was "almost impossible to receive a fair hearing."

"The decision by UEFA and followed by the Court of Arbitration for Sport shows that sporting merit is rendered meaningless," Palace said.

"It appears that certain clubs, organisations and individuals have a unique privilege and power.

"This growing and unhealthy influence has shattered the hopes and dreams of Crystal Palace supporters, and does not bode well for aspirational teams all over Europe competing to progress when rules and sanctions are unevenly applied in the most flagrant way."

Palace added they will "continue to take legal advice on the next steps" as they prepare to compete in the Conference League.

BBC Sport has contacted UEFA for a response.

Nottingham Forest finished seventh in the Premier League last season and have been promoted to the Europa League in Palace's place.

"Multi-club structures hide behind the charade of a 'blind trust' while clubs such as ours, who have no connection to another club whatsoever, are prevented from playing in the same competition," Palace said.

"To compound the injustice, clubs that appear to have huge informal arrangements with each other are also allowed to participate and even possibly play against each other."

The Eagles had until 1 March 2025 to show UEFA proof of multi-club ownership restructuring, but missed the deadline.

American businessman John Textor owned a 43% stake in Palace but sold it in June and is the majority owner of Lyon, who have also qualified for the Europa League.

Cas said that Textor "still had decisive influence over both clubs" at the time of UEFA's assessment.

The panel also dismissed Palace's argument that they received unfair treatment in comparison to Nottingham Forest and Lyon.

'This should be a turning point'

There is precedent for teams being sanctioned by UEFA and for CAS to uphold that decision for breaching multi-club ownership rules.

Irish Premier Division side Drogheda qualified for the 2025-26 Conference League but have been expelled from Europe due to US-based Trivela Group also owning Danish side Silkeborg, who also earned a spot in the competition.

"UEFA's decision has wider implications for the governance of the sport," Palace added.

"This should be a turning point for football. UEFA must fulfil its mandate to pass coherent rules which are properly communicated and applied, with reasonable cure periods to resolve uncertainty and consistent sanctions, treating all clubs equally with a proper appeal process.

"The European Court of Justice has made it clear that rulings similar to this will be under greater scrutiny from national courts in future. Only then will fairness and due process be granted to every team."

Palace will face either Norwegian side Fredrikstad or Midtjylland of Denmark in the Conference League play-off round later this month.