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Nottingham Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis has launched legal action against Crystal Palace over a controversial banner displayed by supporters at Selhurst Park last season.
The High Court claim follows an FA sanction against Palace and centres on a banner depicting Marinakis with a gun pointed at Morgan Gibbs-White.
Evangelos Marinakis suing Crystal Palace for defamation
According to the BBC, Marinakis' lawyers lodged a defamation claim at the High Court on Monday, with Crystal Palace and persons unknown listed as defendants.
The legal action relates to a banner displayed during the 1-1 Premier League draw between Palace and Forest at Selhurst Park on August 24th 2025.
The banner depicted Marinakis holding what appeared to be a gun to Gibbs-White's head and carried the message: “Mr Marinakis is not involved in blackmail, match-fixing, drug trafficking or corruption.”
Marinakis has consistently denied any wrongdoing relating to the allegations referenced on the banner.
The incident came amid an increasingly strained relationship between the two clubs.
Palace were subsequently demoted from the Europa League to the Conference League following a UEFA ruling over multi-club ownership regulations, with Forest taking their place in the Europa League.
The Football Association also took action against Crystal Palace, with the club fined £50,000 after being found to have failed to ensure supporters did not behave in an improper, offensive, abusive or provocative manner.
The FA's published reasons state that the banner was an unauthorised display and that an investigation found shortcomings in the stadium's search regime, although Palace disputed that the banner breached the relevant rule and argued that it had taken reasonable steps to prevent such material being displayed.
Marinakis' latest legal action is separate from the FA disciplinary proceedings and will now be considered through the courts. Neither Palace nor Marinakis' legal representatives have commented on the claim.
FGG says: This is now a matter for the courts
The banner was clearly provocative and Palace have already faced an FA punishment over the incident, but Marinakis' defamation claim is a separate legal matter.
Whatever the outcome, it is another chapter in an increasingly bitter rivalry between the two clubs.