The Premier League schedule in August has fallen into chaos, less than 48 hours after the official matches are confirmed.
The reason is because of the new UEFA decision, when they Christmas Crystal Palace to the UEFA Conference League and raise Nottingham Forest to play in the Europa League. This forced the Premier League Organizing Committee to tear the entire schedule of the third round.
Earlier, Nottingham Forest was expected to play the first leg of the Conference League qualifying on Thursday, so the Premier League match on their weekend – ironically, was a guest on the pitch of Crystal Palace – was moved to Sunday on August 24.
However, the impact is greater than the next weekend. The Premier League Organizing Committee on Wednesday announced the Aston Villa vs Crystal Palace match will take place on Friday on August 29, at 20:00 (English time).
But now, Palace will have to play the first leg of the European Cup qualifier the previous day (Thursday, August 28) – unless the appeal to the Sports Arbitration Court (CAS) is successful – the match against Aston Villa will have to be moved again, to Sunday afternoon.
Because the concentration of the national team will take place immediately after that round, it is impossible to move any match to Monday night. The Premier League Organizing Committee can move Nottingham vs West Ham, originally moved to Sunday, returning to the original time frame of 3 pm Saturday, or even pushed up the stone early on Friday night to fill the gap.
The Crystal Palace has not made an official feedback about being descended to the Conference League, but it is likely that they will soon appeal to CAS. In UEFA's statement, there is a paragraph: “The current decision can be appealed to the sports arbitration court, according to Articles 62 and 63 of the UEFA charter”.
Earlier, former major shareholders of Crystal Palace, John Textor made a strong move to save the Europa League to the club, when selling all his £ 190 million shares. But that late “rescue” move could not change the situation, and UEFA officially launched a heavy blow to Palace.
