CALLUM HUDSON-ODOI saved a point for Nottingham Forest in football’s strangest new grudge-match.
The 24-year-old winger cancelled out Ismaila Sarr’s opener to leave it all square as Palace’s red, raw fury took centre stage at Selhurst Park.
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The hosts pulled no punches, unfurling a banner with Forest’s controversial owner Evangelos Marinakis pointing a gun to Morgan Gibbs-White’s head as John Textor mocked up as a clown.
Marinakis didn’t have the guts to step foot in Croydon yesterday afternoon, despite being used to football in Greece, where a club owner once took a gun onto the pitch.
Palace didn’t care though and still serenaded him with many renditions of “Marinakias you’re a w***er, you’re a w***er”.
And “f*** Uefa, f*** Uefa. F*** Uefa, f*** John Textor, f*** Marinakis.”
There was security lined all around the director’s box like never seen before in case Marinakis was in the building – and two meathead bodyguards escorted Gibbs-White in.
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To cut a long story short, the needle began when Palace were granted automatic Europa League qualification after winning the FA Cup.
They were then demoted to the Conference League after Lyon, also owned by Textor, qualified meaning they breached Uefa’s multi-club ownership rules.
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These rules had never previously been enforced and the team to benefit was Forest – who first asked Uefa to “clarify their position” in Europe.
Palace’s appeal was heard in Lausanne’s Court of Arbitration for Sport (Cas) – sparking the new nickname for this match – El Casico.
To add to the frostiness this afternoon, Nottingham Forest director of football Edu was in the stands at Selhurst Park after his reported fall out with Nuno – whose future is uncertain.
Thomas Tuchel was also at Selhurst Park, no doubt keeping an eye on Dean Henderson, Marc Guehi, Adam Wharton, Elliot Anderson, Callum Hudson-Odoi and Morgan Gibbs-White ahead of naming his latest squad on Friday.
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Forest went so close early on with Chris Wood firing just wide from close range after a lovely cross from Gibbs-White.
It was cagey but Palace started to build just before the half-hour mark as Jean Philippe Mateta stung the hands of Matz Sels.
Justin Devenny then broke free in front of Sels but scuffed his shot out for a corner.
The deadlock was finally broken on 37 minutes as Ismaila Sarr latched onto a pass from Daniel Munoz before slotting home.
Moments later Will Hughes nearly cracked a corker in, but it flew inches past the far post.
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Marc Guehi then rattled a header from a free-kick against the post on the stroke of half-time as Forest finished the first-half without a shot on target.
After the break Anthony Taylor made sure he was the second most hated man at Selhurst Park by booking a player on both sides for time wasting.
Forest were lacking the verve they had in their 3-1 win to Brentford the weekend before and must have been given an earful from Nuno at half-time.
On 57 minutes they responded as Hudson-Odoi latched onto Dan Ndoye’s pass, broke free and then lashed in the leveller.
Igor Jesus had only just come on for Forest and rattled the woodwork with a shot before the rebound fell to Omari Hutchinson who could not finish.
There was drama in the dying seconds as Sarr was sent sprawling inside the Forest penalty box by Murillo – but the Palace man was offside and there was no penalty, which VAR concurred with.
