Evangelos Marinakis Files Defamation Claim Against Crystal Palace

Evangelos Marinakis has launched legal action against Crystal Palace over a provocative banner displayed by their supporters, dragging a simmering rivalry from the pitch into the High Court.

The Nottingham Forest owner has filed a defamation claim after Palace fans unveiled a large 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 lawyers lodged the claim on Monday, with CPFC Limited named as one of two defendants. Marinakis has repeatedly and firmly denied any wrongdoing in relation to the allegations referenced on the banner.

The incident did not disappear with the final whistle. In November 2025, the Football Association charged Palace with failing to ensure their supporters did not behave in an improper, offensive, abusive or provocative manner. The banner itself was not explicitly cited in that charge, but the rules are clear: clubs are responsible for preventing defamatory, political or offensive messaging inside stadiums.

Here, the lines between terrace culture and legal liability have collided head-on.

The banner touched on more than just reputation. It arrived at a moment when Gibbs-White’s future had become a live storyline in its own right. The England international came close to leaving Forest last summer after Tottenham appeared to activate a £60m release clause. The move never materialised. Instead, he signed a new contract at Forest and later discussed his decision in an interview conducted alongside Marinakis, underlining the owner’s central role in the club’s project.

That relationship, and Forest’s rapid rise under Marinakis’ ownership, has not gone unnoticed in south London either.

Last season, Marinakis-owned Forest stepped into the Europa League at Palace’s expense, after the south London club were relegated to the Conference League for breaching Uefa’s multi-club ownership regulations. Palace’s fall and Forest’s elevation sharpened the edges of an already spiky fixture. The banner only added fuel.

Now the dispute has moved from the stands to the courtroom, where the boundaries of fan expression, club responsibility and personal reputation will be tested under a very different kind of spotlight.