Tense meeting awaits after Crystal Palace’s bitter European battle with Forest

Crystal Palace against Nottingham Forest isn’t usually a Premier League fixture that would have the Metropolitan police on red alert. But after a summer spent at each other’s throats at the court of arbitration for sport as well as on social media over Uefa’s decision to demote Palace from the Europa League to the Conference League, to Forest’s advantage, supporters of both clubs are preparing to come face-to-face on Sunday afternoon.

“Forest aren’t our rivals – they’re nothing to us,” says the Palace fan Chris Waters. “But all of a sudden this game has a bitter edge to it.” Sanad Attia, AKA Wolfie, who presents the Forest Fan TV YouTube channel, says: “We’ve never really had any kind of issue with Palace – I was quite happy for them winning the FA Cup. But they have been wanting to blame everyone but themselves. And in particular, Forest and Evangelos Maranakis.”

It remains to be seen whether the Greek billionaire will be at Selhurst Park. Forest were accused by the Palace chairman, Steve Parish, of playing a crucial role in their demotion after the Midlands club raised concerns to Uefa in June about Palace potentially being in breach of multi-club ownership rules. As usual, Marinakis is expected to bring his own security if he does make the trip to south London, and Palace insist the Forest owner is welcome in the boardroom.

“I would love to be a fly in that boardroom on Sunday if he walks in,” says Waters. “He shouldn’t not turn up to watch his team, but he’s got to expect a hostile reception because effectively he has played a key part in taking away our right to play in a premier European competition.

View image in fullscreen Crystal Palace say Evangelos Marinakis, the Nottingham Forest owner, is welcome in the boardroom on Sunday. Photograph: Richard Heathcote/Getty Images

“I’m not belittling Forest, but isn’t this about the smaller clubs standing up against the establishment? It feels just a bit like a betrayal.”

Forest don’t quite see things the same way. They point to the fact that John Textor, Palace’s American part-owner at the time, was found by Uefa to have “decisive influence” while also being the majority shareholder at the French club Lyon, who also qualified for the Europa League. Unlike Marinakis, Textor missed the opportunity to place his shares in a blind trust before the 1 March deadline and has since sold his stake to Woody Johnson.

Earlier this month both clubs sent legal teams to Palace’s appeal at Cas in Lausanne. The court found against the London club’s claim they were unfairly treated compared to Forest and Lyon. “The most fascinating thing for me is the fans seem to have let Steve Parish get away with this for free,” says Attia. “Yes, we profited from their mistake. But I would expect any Premier League owner to want what’s best for their club.”

The Forest manager, Nuno Espírito Santo, revealed this week he had mentioned that to his Palace counterpart, Oliver Glasner, when they spoke recently, even if he also admitted on Friday that his relationship with Marinakis “has changed” for the worse since their on-pitch altercation after May’s draw with Leicester. “The narrative that is being built is not the truth, we are not to blame,” Nuno told BBC Nottingham. “We have sympathy for the fans of Palace, extreme sympathy for their players and coaching staff, especially Oliver – and I told him. But please, don’t put Forest as the bad guy because we are not.”

It is estimated they could make up to £20m from promotion to the Europa League, with Marinakis having answered his manager’s request to sign new players this week by bringing in four – James McAtee, Omari Hutchinson and Arnaud Kalimuendo on permanent deals for around £90m, and Douglas Luiz on loan from Juventus. By contrast, Glasner has been frustrated by Palace’s inaction in the transfer market; they have spent the least of any club in Europe’s top five leagues. They also agreed the sale of Eberechi Eze to Arsenal on the eve of the first leg of their Conference League playoff against Fredrikstad.

Nonetheless, he appeared conciliatory towards Forest when asked if there will be an extra edge to the game. “Yes there can be,” he said. “But you know Forest didn’t make the verdict – it was made by Uefa and then Cas. I still think it’s unfair because it’s against the justice we are living in, in the world we are living in. This has nothing to do with Nottingham. They’re very ambitious, and when you’re seventh [last season] and adding all these players, this is what we have to face.”

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View image in fullscreen ‘One thing we’re unanimous on is what Maranakis has done for this club,” says Sanad Attia AKA Wolfie. Photograph: Footy Network

That’s unlikely to calm things down in the stands, however. Against Fredrikstad in the Conference League on Thursday night, the Palace supporters’ group the Holmesdale Fanatics introduced a new line to round off their favourite current song that describes Marinakis as a “fat greedy bastard” and also takes aim at Uefa and Textor. At Forest’s victory over Brentford last weekend, a new chant also referring to their owner’s summer battle with Spurs to keep Morgan Gibbs-White rang around the City Ground. “Marinakis, he hates the Tottenham, he hates the Palace, Forest are magic …”

“We disagree on a lot of things, but one thing we’re unanimous on is what Maranakis has done for this club,” says Attia. “He promised us when we got promoted, ‘We’re here to rewrite the proud history that Forest have had.’ And he’s proving to be a man of his word.”

To add more spice to Sunday’s match, Palace have gone nine matches without a win against Forest in all competitions, a run that stretches back to 2011. Whatever the result, Waters expects the bitterness to linger. “Palace fans don’t forget things like this,” he says.

“Obviously, we’ll be looking out keenly for their European results. It’s just a shame that it’s just come to this – football should be kept out of the courtrooms, but two clubs have been dragged into it and quite at the behest of one of them. We suffered as a consequence and that hurts.”

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