Evangelos Marinakis Takes Legal Action Against Crystal Palace Over Defamatory Banner
Evangelos Marinakis has launched High Court proceedings against Crystal Palace over a provocative banner displayed by their supporters, accusing the club of defamation in a case that drags a simmering feud from the stands into the courtroom.
The Nottingham Forest owner is suing after Palace fans unveiled a banner at Selhurst Park during a 1-1 Premier League draw between the clubs last August. The image showed Marinakis holding a gun to the head of Forest midfielder Morgan Gibbs-White, alongside a pointed message:
"Mr Marinakis is not involved in blackmail, match-fixing, drug trafficking or corruption."
His legal team filed the claim on Monday, with CPFC Limited named as one of two defendants. Marinakis has repeatedly and firmly denied any wrongdoing in relation to allegations of that nature, and now he is seeking to challenge the banner’s implication through the courts rather than the court of public opinion.
The episode has been on the Football Association’s radar for some time. In November 2025, the FA charged Palace with failing to ensure their supporters did not behave in an improper, offensive, abusive or provocative manner. The banner was not explicitly cited in that charge, but stadium rules leave little room for ambiguity when it comes to defamatory, political or offensive slogans. Clubs are expected to police what appears in their stands. Palace now find themselves answering not only to the governing body, but to a rival owner in a civil action.
The choice of imagery cut straight to the heart of Forest’s recent story. Gibbs-White, an England international and one of Forest’s most prized assets, had come close to leaving the City Ground last summer when Tottenham appeared to trigger a £60m release clause. The move would have reshaped Forest’s season and Gibbs-White’s career.
Instead, he stayed. He signed a new contract and later sat alongside Marinakis in an interview, explaining his decision to commit his future to the club. That public show of unity between owner and player now sits in stark contrast to the banner that depicted the exact opposite: a player seemingly under threat, a powerful owner cast in the darkest possible light.
The rivalry between Forest and Palace has taken on a new dimension off the pitch as well. Marinakis-owned Forest stepped into the Europa League last season after Palace were relegated to the Conference League for breaching Uefa’s multi-club ownership rules. One club moved up the European ladder as the other was knocked down a rung by governance issues, a twist that did nothing to cool tensions between the two camps.
Now the dispute has moved into the High Court, with Marinakis determined to challenge how he is portrayed inside English stadiums. The outcome will not change a scoreline or a league table, but it could redraw the boundaries of what fans feel they can say — and show — about football’s most powerful figures.
