Sports Arbitration Court Upholds Bans On Russian Football Teams

The Court of Arbitration for Sport rejected on Friday appeals by the Russian football union and four clubs to reverse the UEFA and FIFA bans on Russian national teams

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 15th July, 2022) The Court of Arbitration for Sport rejected on Friday appeals by the Russian football union and four clubs to reverse the UEFA and FIFA bans on Russian national teams.

"The Panel finds it unfortunate that the current military operations in Ukraine, for which Russian football teams, clubs, and players have themselves no responsibility, had, by reason of the decisions of FIFA and UEFA, such an adverse effect on them and Russian football generally," it admitted.

The Lausanne-based court added that "those effects were, in the Panel's view, offset by the need for the secure and orderly conduct of football events for the rest of the world."

The appeals were filed by football clubs Zenit, Sochi, CSKA Moscow and Dynamo Moscow against the European football's governing body UEFA and by the Russian federation against both UEFA and the world's football authority FIFA in February.

In all the six cases, the CAS panel determined that the conflict between Russia and Ukraine and government responses worldwide had created "unforeseen and unprecedented" circumstances to which FIFA and UEFA responded within the scope of the discretion granted to them under their statutes and regulations.

The Russian football union said it "categorically disagrees" with the CAS ruling and will continue the legal battle. Options under consideration include appealing the bans at the Swiss supreme court and claiming compensation from FIFA and UEFA.