Nottingham Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis has filed a defamation claim against Crystal Palace in the High Court after a banner displayed by Palace fans during a Premier League match depicted him holding a gun to midfielder Morgan Gibbs-White’s head.
The banner appeared during a 1-1 draw between the two clubs at Selhurst Park in August 2025. It read: “Mr Marinakis is not involved in blackmail, match-fixing, drug trafficking or corruption.”
Marinakis has consistently denied any wrongdoing in relation to such allegations. His lawyers lodged the High Court claim on Monday, with CPFC Limited listed as one of the two defendants in the case.
The Football Association had already charged Crystal Palace in November 2025 with failing to ensure that supporters did not behave in an improper, offensive, abusive or provocative manner. While the FA did not specify the banner as the basis for the charge, strict rules govern messaging that contains defamatory, political, or offensive content at football grounds.
The backdrop to the banner involves Gibbs-White’s contract situation. The England international came close to leaving Forest last summer after Tottenham appeared to trigger a £60 million release clause in his deal. He ultimately signed a new contract to remain at Forest and appeared alongside Marinakis in a public interview to discuss his decision to stay.
There is also a broader competitive dimension between the two clubs. Marinakis-owned Forest took Crystal Palace’s place in the Europa League last season after Palace were relegated to the Conference League for breaching UEFA’s multi-club ownership rules.
BBC Sport approached both Crystal Palace and Nottingham Forest for comment. Neither had responded at the time of publication.
