Crystal Palace fans unfurled a banner at Selhurst Park depicting Nottingham Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis holding a gun to midfielder Morgan Gibbs-White's head. The banner included the line: "Mr Marinakis is not involved in blackmail, match-fixing, drug trafficking or corruption!" The Football Association has opened an investigation and will consider whether Crystal Palace should be punished under rules on defamatory or offensive messaging. Nottingham Forest view the banner as inflammatory and xenophobic and are frustrated it was allowed into Selhurst Park. Tensions between the clubs increased after UEFA removed Crystal Palace from the Europa League due to multi-club ownership rules.
Palace and Forest played out a 1-1 draw at Selhurst Park on Sunday but the clash was overshadowed by the banner which, in addition to the portrayal of Marinakis pointing a gun towards Gibbs-White, read: "Mr Marinakis is not involved in blackmail, match-fixing, drug trafficking or corruption!" Marinakis has consistently denied any wrongdoing in relation to such allegations. The FA is probing the banner and will decide whether Palace face punishment.
The banner will serve to heighten tensions between the two clubs following a controversial summer that saw Palace relegated into the Europa Conference League with Forest taking their place in the Europa League after the London club contravened Uefa's multi-club ownership rules. Last month, Palace chairman Steve Parish said the decision to remove Crystal Palace from the Europa League was "the biggest injustice in the history of football".
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