Evangelos Marinakis Files Defamation Claim Against Crystal Palace

Evangelos Marinakis has launched legal action against Crystal Palace over a controversial banner displayed by home supporters during last season’s Premier League meeting with Nottingham Forest at Selhurst Park.

The Forest owner has filed a defamation claim in the High Court, with CPFC Limited named as one of two defendants. Papers were lodged on Monday, escalating a dispute that began with a piece of terrace artwork and has now moved into the courtroom.

The banner appeared during a 1-1 draw between Palace and Forest last August. It showed Marinakis holding a gun to the head of Forest midfielder Morgan Gibbs-White, alongside the words: “Mr Marinakis is not involved in blackmail, match-fixing, drug trafficking or corruption.”

The message was pointed, the imagery even more so. Marinakis has repeatedly and consistently denied any wrongdoing in relation to allegations of that nature, and now he is seeking to challenge what his legal team regard as a defamatory depiction.

The Football Association had already been drawn into the fallout. In November 2025, the FA charged Crystal Palace with failing to ensure their supporters did not behave in an improper, offensive, abusive or provocative manner. The governing body did not specifically identify the banner as the cause of the charge, but its regulations are clear on material that includes defamatory, political or offensive slogans inside stadiums.

Gibbs-White found himself at the centre of the storm, at least visually, despite the saga having little to do with his own actions. The England international came close to leaving Forest last summer when Tottenham appeared to activate a £60m release clause, only for the move to stall. He ultimately signed a new contract to stay at the City Ground and later discussed that decision in a joint interview with Marinakis, underlining the owner’s role in convincing him to remain.

The relationship between Palace and Marinakis’ Forest has been strained on more than one front. Marinakis-owned Forest took Palace’s place in the Europa League last season after the south London club were relegated to the Conference League for breaching UEFA’s multi-club ownership rules. Palace dropped out of Europe’s secondary competition; Forest stepped in.

Now the dispute has shifted from the pitch and the boardroom to the High Court, where the image that once hung in the Holmesdale End will be pored over in a very different arena.