Nottingham Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis is suing Crystal Palace for defamation. The reason is a banner that Eagles fans unfurled a year ago.
Tensions between the two clubs have been running high since at least last summer, when Nottingham Forest took over Crystal Palace’s Europa League spot. Because the Eagles had violated UEFA’s ownership regulations, they were relegated to the Conference League at the time.
The fans subsequently voiced their displeasure during a head-to-head match against Nottingham in August 2025 (1–1)—with far-reaching consequences.
Allusion to Gibbs-White’s contract extension
“Mr. Marinakis is not involved in blackmail, match-fixing, drug trafficking, or corruption!” read a banner held aloft by Eagles supporters on that second matchday of the previous season. Alongside this fictional statement, which was attributed to Morgan Gibbs-White, Marinakis was depicted holding a gun to the Nottingham player’s head.
This was a reference to the collapsed transfer of Gibbs-White to Tottenham Hotspur; despite strong interest from the Spurs, he ultimately signed a new contract with Forest running through 2028. Marinakis immediately denied all allegations.
Defamation lawsuit filed
Back in February, Palace was fined 50,000 pounds by the FA. According to the English Football Association, the club “failed to ensure that its spectators and/or fans (as well as anyone posing as a fan or supporter) did not behave in an inappropriate, offensive, abusive, hurtful, and/or provocative manner during this match.” The FA added: “The fact that Crystal Palace had policies in place to prevent banners from being smuggled into the stadium shows that the club was aware of the risk.”
Marinakis, however, is not satisfied with this and filed a defamation lawsuit through his attorneys on Monday, naming Crystal Palace—along with “unknown persons”—as one of the two defendants. This also means that the upcoming match between the two clubs on Matchday 6 of the new season is set to be a tense affair.