The defeat at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) is one of the worst in Crystal Palace’s history.

Forget cup final losses, or derby defeats, or severe thrashings. The decision by CAS to dismiss the club’s appeal against being demoted to the Conference League has denied them the right , earned from winning the FA Cup in one of last season’s feel-good storylines, to invest the potential future earnings in transfers and contract renewals that could help secure the club’s place those few rungs up the ladder.

You only have to look at the difference in prize pools between the Europa League and the Conference League for an idea of the impact: £489m compared to £247m.

Clearly, it is hard to quantify quite how far Palace would have gone in the competition, but the difference between winn

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