Influential supporters’ group are leading the protests against what they see as Uefa’s unjust demotion of their club to the Conference League
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hen the Holmesdale Fanatics say they are planning something, it is usually worth paying attention. The receptionist at Uefa’s headquarters in Nyon looked bemused when presented with a suitcase full of fake bank notes last month by members of the Crystal Palace supporters’ group. They claimed it represented the “contradictions of their supposed ‘fundamental values’ of integrity and fairness and the reality of their business methods and general conduct”.
Uefa has said it followed the correct procedures after its club financial control body demoted Palace from the Europa League to the Conference League because they were deemed to have broken multi-club ownership rules. But for the HF, it was a call to arms.
“For a situation like this, where we and our family members feel there is something unjust happening to the club, we have to act quickly,” says Mickey Grafton, a founder member who also helped organise a protest outside Selhurst Park a week earlier attended by hundreds of fans.
