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Crystal Palace have been charged by the Football Association for a giant banner that mocked Nottingham Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis before their Premier League meeting at Selhurst Park
Crystal Palace have been hit with a misconduct charge by the Football Association (FA) following an incident where fans displayed a large banner about Nottingham Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis during their Premier League clash in August.
The tension between Palace and Forest had escalated over the summer as both clubs vied for a spot in this season's Europe League. UEFA eventually decided that Forest would participate in the second-tier competition, leaving Palace out due to previous co-owner John Textor's involvement with Lyon.
Despite Marinakis not being present at the match, which ended in a 1-1 draw, supporters made their sentiments known. Fans in the Holmesdale End at Selhurst Park unveiled a banner portraying Marinakis holding a gun to the head of Morgan Gibbs-White, who was on the verge of moving to Tottenham before deciding to sign a new contract.
The FA released a statement saying: "Crystal Palace FC has been charged with misconduct in relation to its Premier League fixture against Nottingham Forest FC on Sunday 24 August.
"It's alleged that the club failed to ensure its spectators and/or supporters (and anyone purporting to be supporters or followers) didn't behave in an improper, offensive, abusive, insulting and/or provocative way during the fixture. Crystal Palace FC has until Tuesday 11 November to provide a response."
Crystal Palace secured a spot in the Europa League after triumphing over Manchester City to clinch the FA Cup in May. However, Oliver Glasner's squad was later barred from the competition due to former co-owner Textor's controlling stake in Ligue 1 club Lyon.
UEFA only determined that Textor held a controlling interest in two clubs participating in the Europa League after a prolonged saga, with Marinakis allegedly penning a letter to the governing body expressing concerns about Palace's ownership.
Forest were the first to profit from Palace's exclusion, having finished seventh in the Premier League and qualified for the Conference League.
Following Palace's relegation to the third tier of European football, they appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport but failed to reverse the decision, settling instead for a place in the Conference League. Forest, on the other hand, received an eleventh-hour promotion to the Europa League.
The Eagles have had a mixed start to their league phase matches in the Conference League, winning one and losing one after defeating Fredrikstad to reach this stage of the competition.
They claimed a 2-0 victory against Dynamo Kyiv, before suffering a 1-0 defeat to Cypriot team AEK Larnaca at the end of last month.
Forest have had a mixed start to their Europa League campaign this season, securing four points from their first three matches.
Their journey saw them draw 2-2 with Real Betis, suffer a 3-2 defeat at home to Danish side Midtjylland, and clinch a crucial 2-0 victory over Porto in Sean Dyche's managerial debut.
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