Downgrade, for example, accepted by link (8)
I believe the answer is:
relegate
'downgrade' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'example accepted by link' is the wordplay.
'example' becomes 'eg'.
'accepted by' is an insertion indicator.
'link' becomes 'relate' (relating is a kind of linking).
'eg' going into 'relate' is 'RELEGATE'.
'for' is the link.
(Other definitions for relegate that I've seen before include "Demote" , "Move to a lower position" , "Send down" , "Assign to a lower position" , "Transfer to a lower division" .)