Nottingham Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis has filed a defamation lawsuit against Crystal Palace over a fan banner that depicted him holding a gun to Morgan Gibbs-White's head. Lawyers for Marinakis lodged the case in the High Court on Monday against CPFC Limited and persons unknown.
The banner was unfurled by Crystal Palace supporters during a Premier League match against Nottingham Forest at Selhurst Park in August 2025. It included a speech bubble from Gibbs-White reading: "Mr Marinakis is not involved in blackmail, match-fixing, drug trafficking or corruption." The Football Association later fined Crystal Palace £50,000 for failing to prevent offensive spectator behaviour.
Tensions between the clubs have simmered since Forest raised concerns with Uefa about Palace's multi-club ownership, leading to Palace being demoted to the Conference League while Forest took their Europa League spot. Former Palace manager Oliver Glasner has since joined Nottingham Forest, with the two clubs set to meet again at Selhurst Park on 10 October.