2026-05-28 08:50:20
Crystal Palace co-owner Steve Parish says the club’s Conference League triumph shows that “sometimes the good guys win”.
The Eagles beat Spanish side Rayo Vallecano 1-0 in Wednesday’s (27.05.26) Leipzig showpiece to claim their first-ever European trophy and Parish feels that justice has been done after Palace sealed a place in next season’s Europa League – a competition they had qualified for last year by winning the FA Cup before losing their spot to Nottingham Forest in a legal dispute surrounding multi-club ownership.
The businessman – who led a consortium of supporters who rescued the Eagles from administration in 2010 – told TNT Sports: “It’s incredible. An amazing achievement. All the ups and downs. To get to the Europa League, where we deserve to be. Just shows you sometimes the good guys win.
“When I bought the club I wasn’t sure we’d ever play in Europe, let alone win a trophy. It’s a dream come true. We have got a taste for it now, we want to keep it going. We have gone up a level and we have got to try and stay there. We will have a week to celebrate and then work hard in the summer.”
The final marked the perfect ending for Palace manager Oliver Glasner, who bows out at Selhurst Park after leading the club to the first two major honours in their history.
The coach said: “I can’t even believe that this was the last game.
“But yes, I took this decision, and I think it’s a chapter, it’s, I think it’s a good chapter to read in the Crystal Palace book, but other chapters will follow.
“It’s the same, I said to the players, get now what you deserve after winning the FA Cup, that’s the Europa League.
“So I think now it’s with a one-year delay, the club, the fans, the players did get what they deserved after winning the Europa League.
“So sometimes, okay, you have to take a round trip, and now we are there. Crystal Palace is where they should be.
“I have to forward the congratulations to the players, to the team, because it was the game that we expected, but I think we played incredible 15 minutes after half-time, where we scored the goal, where we could have decided it.
“Then at the end we defended so well, fantastic evening, and I think it’s really this group of players, this club, these fans deserve to win the Conference League, and that’s why I’m really, really pleased tonight.”
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