Simon Jordan takes aim at Crystal Palace chief as Nottingham Forest UEFA Europa League drama escalates

Nottingham Forest and Crystal Palace are becoming the Premier League’s newest rivalry over the UEFA Europa League spot, with ex-Palace owner Simon Jordan now weighing in with his thoughts.

Forest claimed Palace’s Europa League place due to the FA Cup winners breaching UEFA’s multi-club ownership rules, a decision that Palace aren’t taking lightly.

As expected, Palace have appealed UEFA’s ruling and their case will be heard by the Court of Arbitration for Sport on or before the 11th of August.

If the tension between the two clubs wasn’t high enough, Palace have accused UEFA of treating Forest favourably as owner Steve Parish begins to put together his club’s case. However, Jordan believes that it’s Parish who should take the blame for the situation.

Photo by James Gill – Danehouse/Getty Images

Simon Jordan slams Steve Parish over UEFA breach

Palace’s defence against UEFA’s charges has been playing out in public forums, seen especially when Parish discussed Forest’s role in UEFA’s decision in an interview with Gary Lineker.

The Eagles seem unshaken in their belief that the ruling will be overturned, but Jordan has instead decided to focus on what Parish could’ve done to avoid the whole situation in the first place.

Speaking on talkSPORT, he said: “Palace are the architect of their own downfall. {…] They can’t keep arguing the idea that they’re not an MCO [multi-club ownership]. UEFA have already told them that they are an MCO.

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“[…] My argument with Parish, insofar as Parish is making a song and dance about the situation, is that you are the executive controller of this football club. […] if you are across the detail of the football club, then it’s your job to make sure that these sorts of challenges are negated.”

It’s hard to argue with Jordan on that front as just by taking a look at Forest, it’s clear that Evangelos Marinakis was across the situation enough to be able to react if the Reds and Olympiacos ended up in the same competition.

Marinakis placed his control of Forest into a blind trust as a precautionary measure which, if John Textor had done at Palace, would’ve likely meant that UEFA would’ve never have stepped in. That’s not to say that the blind trust system is perfect, though, something that Jordan holds strong opinions on.

Simon Jordan is not a fan of the blind trust solution

As it became less likely that Nuno Espírito Santo’s side were going to qualify for the Champions League, it was made clear that Marinakis could take his control of Forest back from the blind trust that he then wouldn’t need.

Forest didn’t have to rely on the blind trust solution that Palace could’ve benefited from, then, even though Jordan thinks the concept is ludicrous.

He said: “It’s ridiculous, a blind trust is ridiculous. If Marinakis puts his shares into a blind trust and no longer ‘appears’ to run Nottingham Forest, who do you think runs Nottingham Forest? Who has the decisive influence on Nottingham Forest?”

Ridiculous or not, UEFA seem happy to accept a blind trust as a solution to the multi-club ownership issue that they can’t quite get to grips with.

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