The Court of Arbitration for Sport

Football is heavily regulated and internal in how it maintains discipline and resolves disputes between governing bodies, leagues, managers, players and other participants. As has been noted in the overviews of FIFA, UEFA, The FA, The FA Premier League, the EFL and The FA WSL and the FA WC, Internal boards, committees, commissions and panels deal with most of football’s disciplinary procedures and disputes, but there are occasions where matters go further.

This overview shall explain the history, organisation and procedure of the Court of Arbitration for Sport, consider some of the practicalities of proceedings before the Court of Arbitration for Sport, and then consider what types of football disputes lead to arbitration proceedings before the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

History of the Court of Arbitration for Sport

In the early 1980s members of the International Olympic Committee (“IOC”) had the idea to create an arbitral jurisdiction devoted to resolving disputes directly or indirectly related to sport, and then created a working group to prepare the statutes of what would become the Court of Arbitration for Sport (“CAS”). It was proposed that the jurisdiction of the CAS would not be imposed on athletes or federations but would be freely available. The IOC ratified those statutes in 1983 and the CAS Statue, accompanied by procedural Regulations, came into force on 30 June 1984, and from which date the CAS became operational from its headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland. The operating costs of the CAS were borne by the IOC. Additionally, the IOC had a heavy hand in appointing members of the CAS.

Following a judgment from the Swiss Federal Tribunal in 1993, which, amongst other things, stated that the CAS needed greater independence and autonomy from the IOC, major reform of the CAS was brought about. The CAS Statute and Regulations were revised to make them more efficient and to modify the structure of the CAS, making the CAS independent of the IOC by creating an International Council of Arbitration for Sport (“ICAS”) to be responsible for the running and financing of the CAS. The reform also created two arbitration divisions of the CAS: (i) the Ordinary Arbitration Division to deal with disputes of sole instance, such as commercial disputes; and (ii) the Appeals Arbitration Divisions to deal with disputes arising from a decision taken by a sports body (the majority of cases that the CAS deals with are appeal arbitrations.). These reforms came into force on 22 November 1994 in the Code of Sports-Related Arbitration (“the Code”), which has been updated from time to time.

Organisation of the CAS - The Code

The Code currently has 70 articles, and is split into two parts:

• The Statutes of the bodies working for the settlement of sports-related disputes (articles S1-S26); and

• The Procedural Rules, which apply whenever the parties have agreed to refer a sports-related dispute to the CAS (articles R27-R70).

The Statutes identify the composition and function of the ICAS (see articles S2 and S4-S11), and the CAS’s now three divisions (see articles S12-S22 of the Code): the Ordinary Arbitration Division, the Anti-Doping Division (which also has its own set of procedural rules: Arbitration Rules applicable to the Anti-Doping Division) and the Appeals Arbitration Division (“the three divisions”).

The Statutes also provide for a mediation procedure offered by the CAS. The mediation procedure is a non-binding, informal procedure where the parties to a dispute negotiate with the help of a mediator to settle their dispute conducted in accordance with the CAS Mediation Rules (see articles S1-S2 and S20 of the Code).

The Procedural Rules provide for two types of arbitral proceedings the CAS undertakes:

• The ordinary arbitration procedure (see articles R38-R46 of the Code); and

• The appeals arbitration procedure (see articles R47-R59).

The ICAS, the CAS and the types of cases dealt with by the CAS shall now be looked at in detail with reference made to the Code throughout.

Organisation of the CAS – The ICAS

The ICAS consists of twenty members who must be ‘experienced jurists’ appointed as follows (see article S4 of the Code):

• Four members appointed by the International Sports Federations (“IFs”) (three by the Association of Summer Olympic IFs and one by the Association of Winter Olympics IFs);

• Four members appointed by the Association of the National Olympic Committees (“ANOC”);

• Four members appointed by the IOC;

• Four members appointed by those aforementioned 12 members with a view to safeguarding the interests of athletes; and

• Four final members appointed by those 16 members that shall be independent of those bodies designating the other members of the ICAS.

The purpose of the ICAS is to ‘facilitate the resolution of sports-related disputes through arbitration or mediation and to safeguard the independence of [the] CAS and the rights of the Parties… [and to be] responsible for the administration and financing of [the] CAS’ (see article S2 of the Code). In fulfilling this purpose, the ICAS exercises, amongst others, the following functions (see article S6 of the Code):

• Adopting and amending the Code;

• Electing from its members a President, who will also be the President of the CAS (see article S9 of the Code), two Vice-Presidents, and the President and Deputies of the three divisions;

• Being responsible for the financing of and financial reporting by the CAS;

• Appointing permanent commissions, which are the CAS Membership Commission, The Legal Aid Commission and the Challenge Commission (see below) (see article S7.2 of the Code);

• Appointing the arbitrators and mediators who constitute the list of the CAS arbitrators and mediators;

• Creating a legal aid fund and legal aid guidelines to provide access to the CAS for individuals without sufficient financial means to access; and

• Appointing the CAS Director General, who acts as Secretary to the ICAS and supervises the activities of the CAS Court Office (see article S8.4 of the Code).

Some of the ICAS’s functions, including the first two functions in the above-stated list, are expressly reserved to the ICAS (see article S7 of the Code). The ICAS meets whenever the CAS’s activities so require but must meet at least once a year (see article S8.1 of the Code). The ICAS is quorate when half its members are present. Decisions of the ICAS are made during such meetings or by correspondence by way of vote, with a matter being decided by a simple majority (more than 50%) of the votes, save for modifications to the Code which require two-thirds of the votes of the ICAS members (see article S8.1-S8.2 of the Code).

Otherwise, the ICAS exercises its functions through the Board of the ICAS and its three permanent commissions (see article S7 of the Code):

• The Board of the ICAS (“the ICAS Board”) consists of the President of ICAS (elected in accordance with article S8.3), the two Vice-Presidents of ICAS (elected in accordance with article S6.2), the President of the Ordinary Arbitration Division and the President of the Appeals Arbitration Division. The ICAS Board meets as often as is necessary and is quorate when three of its members are present, with decisions being reached by a simple majority (see article S10 of the Code). The ICAS Board also receives assistance and advice from the CAS Director General.

• There are three permanent commissions:

  • Firstly, the CAS Membership Commission, which consists of two members of the ICAS and is responsible for providing to the ICAS nominations of new, and suggesting the removal of, CAS arbitrators and mediators (see article S7.2a of the Code).

  • Secondly, the Legal Aid Commission, which consists of the ICAS President and four members of the ICAS and decides on requests for legal aid in accordance with the Guidelines on Legal Aid (see article S7.2b of the Code).

  • Thirdly, the Challenge Commission, which consists of a member of the ICAS outside of the selection and membership of the IFs, ANOC and IOC, and the Presidents and Deputies of the three divisions, save that the President and Deputy of the respective division’s procedure being challenged are excluded (see article S7.2c of the Code). The Challenge Commission is responsible for dealing with challenges made as to arbitrators’ independence and impartiality and, where appropriate, removing arbitrators (see article and R34-R35 of the Code).

Finally, a notable function of the ICAS worthy of mention is providing for ‘regional or local, permanent or ad hoc arbitration, including at alternative hearing centres’ (see article S6.8 of the Code). This allows for the creation of ad hoc divisions to be created for major sports games, such as the Olympics, FIFA World Cup and the UEFA European Football Championship, with its aim being to deal with arbitrations at locations other than at Lausanne, Switzerland and to deal with such arbitrations quickly.

Organisation of the CAS – The CAS’s arbitrators and mediators

The CAS’s arbitrators appointed by the ICAS:

• Must have ‘appropriate legal training, recognised competence with regard to sports law and/or international arbitration, a good knowledge of sport in general and a good command of at least one CAS working language [(i.e. French, English and Spanish pursuant to article R29 of the Code)]’ (see article S14 of the Code);

• Must be impartial and independent of the parties before the CAS (see articles S18 and R33 of the Code); and

• Can serve on panels constituted by any of the three divisions, save that arbitrators appearing on the CAS’s Anti-Doping Division’s list of arbitrators cannot serve on a panel constituted by the CAS’s Appeals Arbitration Division (see article S18 of the Code).

The CAS’s mediators appointed by the ICAS must have ‘experience in mediation and a good knowledge of sport in general’ and a mediator is appointed to mediation proceedings either by agreement between the parties or by appointment by the CAS President (see article S14 of the Code and article 6 of the CAS Mediation Rules).

CAS’s arbitrators and mediators are bound by a duty of confidentiality (see article S19 of the Code). CAS’s arbitrators and mediators are not permitted to act as counsel or expert for a party before the CAS (see article S18 of the Code). Otherwise insofar as representation is concerned, parties may be represented or assisted by persons of their choice (see article R30 of the Code).

Focus is given to arbitration proceedings in the remainder of this article, in particular to arbitration proceedings before the Ordinary Arbitration Division and the Appeals Arbitration Division of the CAS.

Arbitration proceedings submitted to the CAS are assigned by the CAS Court Office to the appropriate division of the three divisions (see article S20 of the Code). The procedure of the arbitrations that take place in the Ordinary Arbitration Division and the Appeals Arbitration Division is explained in detail below.

Procedure – Ordinary Arbitration Division

The procedural rules for an arbitration dealt with by the Ordinary Arbitration Division are found in articles R38-R46 of the Code. Proceedings in the Ordinary Arbitration Division are confidential, which applies to the information relating to the dispute or proceedings, and awards are not made public unless otherwise agreed or decided (see article R43 of the Code).

As noted above, the types of arbitration that the Ordinary Arbitration Division deals with are disputes of sole instance, such as contractual, commercial disputes. Such an arbitration begins with the party intending to submit a matter to arbitration before the CAS, i.e. the Claimant, filing a request with the CAS Court Office (see articles R31 and R38-R39 of the Code), which should state:

• The name of the respondent;

• A brief statement of the facts and legal argument, including a statement of the issue to be submitted to the CAS for determination;

• Its request for relief;

• A copy of the contract or other document between the parties containing an agreement to arbitration and giving the CAS the jurisdiction to hear the dispute;

• Information about the number and choice of arbitrators from the CAS list of arbitrators; and

• Is accompanied by the Claimant’s payment of a Court Office fee of 1,000 CHF (see articles R38 and R64.1 of the Code).

Upon receipt of the request and the Court Office fee, the CAS Court Office (see R39 of the Code) shall:

• Communicate the request to the respondent;

• Ask the parties to confirm the applicable law (see also article R45 of the Code);

• Set time limits for the respondent to submit information about the number and choice of arbitrators from the CAS list of arbitrators; and

• Set time limits for the for the respondent to file an answer to the request, which is required to include, a statement of defence, any defence of lack of jurisdiction and any counterclaim. It should be noted that the respondent has the option to request that the time limit for filing the answer is fixed for after Claimant has paid its share of the advance of costs (see also article R64.2 of the Code).

The panel chosen to resolve the dispute will consist of one sole arbitrator or three arbitrators (see article R40.1 of the Code).

Where there is to be one sole arbitrator on the panel, the parties are invited to agree the arbitrator to be appointed from the CAS’s list of arbitrators, and in the absence of such the President of the Ordinary Arbitration Division shall proceed with the appointment (see article 40.2 of the Code).

Where there are to be three arbitrators on the panel:

• The Claimant and the Defendant shall each nominate an arbitrator from the CAS’s list of arbitrators, and in the absence of such the President of the Ordinary Arbitration Division shall proceed with the appointments; and

• In either event from the preceding point, the two appointed arbitrators shall then select the third member of the panel by mutual agreement and that third member shall act as the president of the panel. However, if there is no agreement at this stage then, again, the President of the Ordinary Arbitration Division shall appoint the president of the panel (see article R40.1 of the Code).

Subject to the payment of advance of costs (see article R64.2-64.3 of the Code), once the panel is formed the CAS Court Office transfers the file to the panel (see article 40.3 of the Code).

Proceedings before the panel will comprise written submissions and then an oral hearing, provided as follows:

• Firstly, upon the panel’s receipt of the file, the president of the panel shall issue directions for the parties’ written submissions, and those written submissions will include, generally, one statement of claim and one response, together with the written evidence that the parties intend to rely upon (see article R44.1 of the Code). A failure to comply with this step will result in the request for arbitration being deemed withdrawn or the panel proceeding to deliver an award, as the case may be (see article R44.5 of the Code).

• Secondly, the president of the panel will issue directions with respect to the hearing and set a hearing date. At the hearing the panel hears the parties, any witnesses and experts, and the parties’ final oral arguments (see article R44.2 of the Code). At the hearing the president of the panel will exercise control over the hearing by, amongst other things, ensuring that statements made are concise and using video-conference and tele-conference facilities where appropriate (see article R44.2 of the Code). Notably, the panel may, after consulting with the parties, decide not to hold a hearing if it is sufficiently informed by the written submissions (see article R44.2 of the Code).

• Thirdly, once the panel has heard and/or read the parties’ cases, the panel will make an award by the president of the panel alone or a majority decision (depending on the number of arbitrators), and, generally, the panel will state its reasons for its award (see article 46 of the Code). The award of the panel is final and binding, save for some narrow exceptions pursuant to Swiss law (see article 190(2) of the Swiss Federal Code on Private International Law).

Procedure – Appeals Arbitration Division

The procedural rules for an arbitration dealt with by the Appeals Arbitration Division are found in articles R47-59 of the Code.

As also noted above, the types of arbitration that the Appeals Arbitration Division deals with are disputes arising from a decision taken by a sports body, for example an appeal against a decision of FIFA's judicial bodies, if so permitted (see below) (see article R47 of the Code).

The appellant begins the appeal arbitration process by filing a statement of appeal with the CAS Court Office (see articles R31 and R48 of the Code), which will contain, amongst other things:

• The name and address of the respondent;

• A copy of the decision being appealed;

• The appellant’s nomination of an arbitrator from the CAS’s list of arbitrators (unless the appellant requests the appointment of one sole arbitrator);

• A copy of the provisions of the statutes or regulations or the specific agreement providing for an appeal to the CAS and giving the CAS the jurisdiction to hear the appeal; and

• Is accompanied the appellant’s payment of a Court Office Fee of 1,000 CHF (see articles R48, R64.1 and R65.2 of the Code).

In the absence of a time limit set out in the statutes or regulations of the sports body whose decision is being appealed, or as set out in a previous agreement, the appellant must make an appeal to the CAS within 21 days from the date of receipt of the decision being appealed (see article R49 of the Code). This deadline cannot be extended (see article R32 of the Code).

Within 10 days following the expiry of the time limit for the appeal (so, if the aforementioned 21-day time limit is applicable, within 31 days from the date of receipt of the decision being appealed) the appellant is also required to file with the CAS Court Office an appeal brief (see article R51 of the Code). The appeal brief will state the detailed facts and legal arguments giving rise to the appeal, together with exhibits, specifications of evidence, witness statements (unless the president of the panel decides otherwise) and the names of experts that the appellant intends to rely upon. Alternatively, and within the same timeframe, the appellant can inform the CAS Court Office that the statement of appeal shall be considered as the appeal brief.

The CAS Court Office will then communicate the statement of appeal to the respondent and send a copy of the statement of appeal and appeal brief to the legal body of the sports body whose decision is subject of the appeal (see article R52 of the Code).

Within 20 days from the date of receipt of the statement of appeal, the respondent is required to submit to the CAS Court Office an answer, which will include, amongst other things, a statement of defence, exhibits, specifications of evidence, witness statements (unless the president of the panel decides otherwise) and the names of experts that the respondent intends to rely upon (see article R55 of the Code). It should be noted that the respondent has the option to request that the time limit for filing the answer is fixed for after Claimant has paid its share of the advance of costs (see article R64.2 of the Code).

The President of the Appeals Arbitration Division will also proceed with the formation of the panel (see article R52 of the Code), which will consist of three arbitrators from the CAS’s list of arbitrators, unless the parties have agreed to a panel consisting of a sole arbitrator or, if there is no agreement between the parties, the President of the Appeals Arbitration Division, having regard to the circumstances of the case, may decide to submit the appeal to a sole arbitrator (see article R50 of the Code). The selection of the arbitrator(s) is completed as follows:

• In either case of the panel consisting of one sole arbitrator, the President of the Appeals Arbitration Division will appoint the arbitrator (see article R54 of the Code).

• Where the panel is to consist of three arbitrators, the respondent is required to nominate an arbitrator within ten days from receipt of the statement of appeal (see article R53 of the Code). The appellant makes its nomination in its statement of appeal (see above). The President of the Appeals Arbitration Division will then confirm the parties’ nominated arbitrators and shall, following consultation with those two arbitrators, appoint a third arbitrator as president of the panel (see article R54 of the Code).

Subject to the payment of advance of costs (see article R64.2-64.3 of the Code), once the panel is formed the CAS Court Office takes notice of the same and transfers the file to the panel (see article R54 of the Code) and the president of the panel shall issue directions for the hearing (see article R57 of the Code). The president of the panel may also request communication of the file of the legal body of the sports body whose decision is subject of the appeal (see article R57 of the Code). Notably, and again, following receipt of the file, the panel may, after consulting with the parties, decide not to hold a hearing if it is sufficiently informed by the parties’ written submissions (see article R57 of the Code).

The panel has full (de novo) power to review the facts and the law and may issue a new decision to replace the challenged decision, or annul the challenged decision and refer the case back to the previous instance (see articles R57-R58 of the Code). Once the panel has heard and/or read the parties’ cases, the panel will make an award by the president of the panel alone or a majority decision (depending on the number of arbitrators) and will state brief reasons for the award (see article R59 of the Code). Generally, the operative part of the award (i.e., without reasons) will be provided within three months after the panel received the file.

Again, the award of the panel is final and binding, save for some narrow exceptions pursuant to Swiss law (see article R59 of the Code).

The proceedings in the Appeals Arbitration Division are also confidential, which applies to the information relating to the dispute or proceedings (see article R59 of the Code). However, the award, a summary and or a press release detailing the results of proceedings before the Appeals Arbitration Division is made public by the CAS unless both parties agree they should remain confidential.

Practicalities of proceedings before the CAS

The importance of deadlines and payment of the advance of costs

In a conversation with Dev Kumar Parmar, principal director at Parmars Sports, that took place in June 2020, Mr Parmar provided several key practical observations in respect of a proposed appeal being made to the CAS’s Appeals Arbitration Division:

‘When a party seeks to appeal against a decision of, say, FIFA, you have 21 days from notification of the reasoned or motivated decision [(see article 57.1 of the FIFA Statutes and articles 49 and 51.3-51.6 of the FIFA Disciplinary Code)]. Sometimes it can take years for FIFA to provide a motivated decision. I have one matter stemming back to 2014, the initial decision was applied in 2017 and the written, motivated decision was only supplied in 2020. This whole ideology of the CAS being expeditions is true in the confines of the CAS alone but because the CAS works hand-in-hand with FIFA – FIFA is the CAS’s biggest money generator – and others, if they are slow in producing motivated decisions they almost subvert the whole appeal process available through the CAS.

Going back to the 21-day deadline. That deadline is strict. It is an absolutely non-negotiable deadline. Other deadlines are negotiable but not that initial 21-day deadline… Filing the statement of appeal in time is crucial. It is a short document – usually just four or five pages long with brief details setting the required information. It is rare that the statement of appeal will also be used as the appeal brief. I’ve seen cases time-barred by a minute in circumstances where the statement of appeal was formally submitted on 00:00 of the next day rather than 23:59 of the deadline day.

In respect of those other deadlines stated in the Code, though, they can be extended where there is a reason to do so [(see article R32 of the Code)]. So, for example, the deadline for the appeal brief, submissions on evidence and so forth. Usually, a first request is granted. Sometimes a second request will be granted too. In either event, though, an application for an extension to a deadline is likely to be unsuccessful if made frivolously.

…

Another notable practical point in respect of appeals to the CAS’s Appeals Arbitration Division is the ambiguity surrounding the costs of making such an appeal. In respect of an initial fee when lodging your statement of case, yes there is the 1,000 CHF Court Office Fee, but then there are the “arbitration costs”,  the costs of the arbitration panel, administrative costs, clerks costs and so on [(see R64.2 and R64.4 of the Code)]. The highest arbitration costs at the CAS I have seen are £80,000, and that was in a fairly complex case. In a more straightforward case, the CAS’s costs could be, say, £25,000 to be split between both parties. There is a rubric in the Code for how much a case will be, but there is little to no justification for the arbitration costs that are put forward by the CAS. This makes it very difficult to provide a client advice on how much their appeal is likely to cost, in turn making it difficult for the client to make any cost-benefit analysis in respect of their proposed appeal.

On top of that, if an appellant proceeds with making the appeal and receives this estimate of costs from the CAS but is put in the position where the respondent refuses to pay its half of the advance of costs, the appellant is left in the position of having to lay out the full amount just to get their appeal heard [(see R64.2 of the Code)]. This is putting the appellant in another difficult position’.

Jurisprudence

In respect of both the Ordinary Arbitration Division and the Appeals Arbitration Division, as indicated above, there is limited availability to read the CAS’s decisions. However, there is a large database available to search those publicly available decisions, and biannual bulletins provide recent leading cases and commentaries on the CAS’s jurisprudence. Further, Despina Mavromati’s and Matthieu Reeb’s (current Director General of the CAS) The Code of the Court of Arbitration for Sport: Commentary, Cases and Materials (2015) provides a comprehensive exploration of the Code.

The CAS and football disputes

Article R27 of the Code states that the procedural rules apply whenever the parties have agreed to refer a sports-related dispute to the CAS, with such a reference arising:

‘… out of an arbitration clause contained in a contract or regulation or reason of a later arbitration agreement… or may involve an appeal against a decision rendered by a federation, association or sports-related body where the statutes or regulations of such bodies, or a specific agreement provide for an appeal to CAS’.

Additionally, article R47 of the Code, applicable to the CAS’s appeal arbitration procedure, states that an appellant wishing to use the appeal arbitration procedure must have ‘exhausted the legal remedies available to it prior to the appeal, in accordance with the statues or regulations of that body’.

A panel, whether under the Ordinary Arbitration Division or the Appeals Arbitration Division, shall rule on its own jurisdiction to hear the claim or appeal (see articles R39 and R55 of the Code).

Football disputes at a domestic level are generally dealt with by the football governing bodies and leagues, for example The FA and the Premier League, and challenges to decisions from those domestic governing bodies and leagues, where permitted, are dealt with by domestic arbitral statutes and tribunals (save for anti-doping decisions of an FA Appeal Board pursuant to the FA’s Anti-Doping Regulations which can be appealed against by FIFA or the World Anti-Doping Agency to the CAS (see the FA’s Disciplinary Regulations, Part C: Appeals – Non-Fast Track, paragraph 22)).

The absence of, for example, the Premier League having a rule or regulation recognising the CAS as an appeal body means the CAS does not have jurisdiction to hear an appeal in respect of a decision from the Premier League’s board, Commission and Appeals Board (as explained in Football Law’s overview of the Premier League overview). This is something Ashley Cole discovered when he unsuccessfully appealed to the CAS in respect of the Premier League’s then Appeal Committee’s decision to impose a fine of £75,000 on Mr Cole for his breach of a Premier League rule preventing players under contract with one club (Arsenal Football Club) from approaching another club (Chelsea Football Club) with a view to negotiating a contract with such other club (see CAS 2005/A/952: Ashley Cole v FAPL).

However, the CAS is recognised by FIFA. Articles 56-58 of the FIFA Statutes provide, amongst other things:

‘FIFA recognises the… [CAS] to resolve disputes between FIFA, member associations, confederations, leagues, clubs, players, officials, intermediaries and licensed match agents’ (article 56.1 of the FIFA Statutes).

‘The provisions of… [the Code] shall apply to the proceedings. CAS shall primarily apply the various regulations of FIFA and, additionally, Swiss law’ (article 56.2 of the FIFA Statutes).

‘Appeals against final decisions passed by FIFA’s legal bodies and against decisions passed by confederations, member associations or leagues shall be lodged with [the] CAS within 21 days of receipt of the decision in question (article 57.1 of the FIFA Statutes).

‘Recourse may only be made to [the] CAS after all other internal channels have been exhausted’ (article 57.2 of the FIFA Statutes).

‘[The] CAS, however, does not deal with appeals arising from:

(a) violations of the Laws of the Game;

(b) suspensions of up to four matches or up to three months (with the exception of doping decisions); and

(c) decisions against which an appeal to an independent and duly constituted arbitration tribunal recognised under the rules of an association or confederation may be made’ (article 58.3 of the FIFA Statutes).

‘Recourse to ordinary courts of law is prohibited unless specifically provided for in the FIFA regulations. Recourse to ordinary courts of law for all types of provisional measures is also prohibited’ (article 58.2 of the FIFA Statutes).

Likewise, the CAS is recognised by UEFA. Articles 61-63 of the UEFA Statutes providing similar provisions to those articles of the FIFA Statutes stated above:

‘The CAS shall have exclusive jurisdiction, to the exclusion of any ordinary court or any other court of arbitration, to deal with the following disputes in its capacity as an ordinary court of arbitration:

(a) disputes between UEFA and associations, leagues, clubs, players or officials;

(b) disputes of [a] European dimension between associations, leagues, clubs, players or officials’ (article 61.1 of the UEFA Statutes).

‘The CAS shall only intervene in its capacity as an ordinary court of arbitration if the dispute does not fall within the competence of a UEFA organ’ (article 61.2 of the UEFA Statutes).

‘Any decision taken by a UEFA organ may be disputed exclusively before the CAS in its capacity as an appeals arbitration body, to the exclusion of any ordinary court or any other court of arbitration’ (article 62.1 of the UEFA Statutes).

‘The time limit to for appeal to the CAS shall be ten days from the receipt of the decision in question’ (article 62.3 of the UEFA Statutes).

‘An appeal before the CAS may only be brought after UEFA’s internal procedures and remedies have been exhausted’ (article 62.4 of the UEFA Statutes).

‘The CAS is not competent to deal with:

a) matters related to the application of a purely sporting rule, such as the Laws of the Game or the technical modalities of a competition;

b) decisions through which a natural person is suspended for a period of up to two matches or up to one month;

c) awards issued by an independent and impartial court of arbitration in a dispute of national dimension arising from the application of the statutes or regulations of an association’ (article 63.1 of the UEFA Statutes).

‘… proceedings before the CAS shall take place in accordance with the [Code]’ (article 63.2 of the UEFA Statutes).

Accordingly, the types of football disputes that the CAS deals with are generally at an international or intercontinental level, such as:

• Juventus Football Club’s partially successful appeal against a decision of FIFA’s then known Player Status Committee concerning overdue payables in respect of Andrés Tello’s transfer from the Colombian team Envigado Football Club (CAS 2018/A/5683 Juventus Football Club S.p.A v Envigado Football Club S.A. & FFA);

• Luis Suarez’s, FC Barcelona’s and the Asociación Uruguaya de Fútbol's unsuccessful appeals (save for some minor amendment) against the sanctions imposed upon Luis Suarez by FIFA’s Disciplinary Committee and upheld by FIFA’s Appeals Committee for his biting of Giorgio Chiellini at the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil. The CAS upheld the nine-match ban from matches of the Uruguay national team and the four-month ban from all official matches at any level (CAS 2014/A/3665, 3666 & 3667 Luis Suarez, FC Barcelona & AUF v FIFA).

• AC Milan’s successful appeal against a decision of the Adjudicatory Chambers of UEFA’s Club Financial Control Body (“CFCB”) excluding AC Milan from UEFA club competitions for two seasons for the club’s breach of UEFA’s break-even requirements in the then UEFA Club Licensing and Financial Fair Play Regulations. The CAS referred the case back to the Adjudicatory Chamber for it to issue a ‘proportionate disciplinary measure’ (CAS 2018/A/5808 AC Milan v UEFA).

• Manchester City Football Club’s successful appeal against a decision of the Adjudicatory Chamber of the CFCB excluding Manchester City FC from UEFA club competitions for two seasons for the club’s overstating of its sponsorship revenue and break-even information submitted to UEFA pursuant to the then UEFA Club Licensing and Financial Fair Play Regulations, and the club’s failure to cooperate with the CFCB in its investigations into the same. The CAS set aside the Adjudicatory Chambers’ decision and instead imposed a €10,000,000 fine on the club (CAS 2020/A/6785 Manchester City FC v UEFA).

The enforcement of decisions from CAS in football disputes usually remains internal (i.e., as opposed to enforcement through the courts).

Article 15 of FIFA’s Disciplinary Code states that anyone who fails to pay another person event though instructed to do so by a CAS decision or who fails to comply with another final decision passed by the CAS will face a fine. If there is still non-compliance thereafter, further sanctions can be imposed. If the non-complying party is a club, then the club will be sanctioned with a transfer ban and can also face points deductions or relegation. If the non-complying party is a member association, then there is a discretion to imposed additional sanctions. If the non-complying party is a natural person, then a ban on any football-related activity for a specific period may be imposed, together with other disciplinary measures.

Further, article 58 of the FIFA Statutes states:

‘The confederations, member associations and leagues shall agree to recognise [the] CAS as an independent judicial authority and to ensure that their members, affiliated players and officials comply with the decisions passed by [the] CAS. The same obligation shall apply to football agents and match agents that are licensed by FIFA’.

Further again, article 11.1 and 11.2(e) of the UEFA Disciplinary Regulations state:

‘1. Member associations and clubs, as well as their players, officials and members, and all persons assigned by UEFA to exercise a function, must respect the Laws of the Game, as well as UEFA’s Statutes, regulations, directives and decisions, and comply with the principles of ethical conduct, loyalty, integrity and sportsmanship.

2. For example, a breach of these principles is committed by anyone…

e. who does not abide by decisions or directives of the UEFA Organs for the Administration of Justice, or decisions of the Court of Arbitration for Sport involving UEFA as a party or between at least two UEFA members associations’.

30 July 2022

Thomas Horton