Conference League draw in full as Crystal Palace learn opponents despite ongoing dispute about Europa League place

CRYSTAL PALACE are a step closer to finding out their opponents for their first ever European match as their Uefa row rumbles on.

The Eagles won the FA Cup to secure a spot in the Europa League.

Shutterstock EditorialCrystal Palace are a step closer to learning who their opponents will be for their first-ever European game[/caption]

PAEagles went into the Europa League pot after winning the FA Cup but were demoted by Uefa over a multi-club ownership issue[/caption]

However, they were deemed to be part of the same multi-club ownership regime as Lyon, who also qualified for Europe’s second tier.

Last month, they were dumped down into the Conference League.

Palace have appealed the decision and are set to learn their fate in the coming days.

However, it’s most likely their first-ever venture into continental football will be in the Conference League.

And they will play one of Norwegian side Fredrikstad and Danish club Midtjylland.

The Scandinavian duo play in the third-round of Europa League qualifying with the LOSER facing the Eagles in the Conference League play-off clash.

The winner of that tie will progress to the Conference League proper.

Palace avoided the likes of Santa Clara, who finished fifth in the Portuguese league last season, Servette – second in the Swiss top flight – and Utrecht, who ended up fourth in Holland’s Eredivisie.

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However, there is one potential spanner in the works in that both the Norwegian and Danish top-flights are currently halfway through their season.

That means their players will be much more in match shape than Palace’s who have just a few pre-season minutes under their belts this summer.

Crystal Palace will be at home for the first leg.

Last month, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) confirmed they received an appeal from the Eagles – whose fans launched a fierce protest – calling on them to overturn Uefa’s decision to demote them from the Europa League.

Palace‘s appeal also calls for French club Lyon and Premier League rivals Nottingham Forest – who took their place in the Europa League – to be dropped down to the Conference League.

The Eagles’ fate has been in doubt ever since Uefa raised questions over former owner John Textor’s links with Lyon, who have also qualified.

Textor has since sold up at Palace and been booted out of Lyon – but neither club had complied by Uefa’s multi-club rules before a new March 1 deadline.

Forest have currently taken Palace’s place in the Europa League after writing to Uefa to complain about Textor’s links between Selhurst Park and Lyon.

Should CAS overturn the decision, Forest would take on Fredrikstad or Midtjylland in the Conference League playoff tie.

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