Some media in Poland, writing about Russia’s appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), suggested that Russia has challenged not only the decision of FIFA and UEFA to exclude its representation and clubs from international competitions, but also the federations that. Let us remind you that the Polish federation was the first to announce that its players would not come to any match with Russia, and that other countries would join their position.
incl. from Poland, Sweden, the Czech Republic, Austria, Denmark, Portugal, Montenegro, Malta and England. The islanders also communicated their firm position on Russia quite quickly.
However, the Belarusian Piki Nona Association also appeared in the CAS communiqué, which was emphasized in its message by the Associated Press agency. “The Russian appeal to FIFA and UEFA concerns Poland, Sweden, the Czech Republic and many other European countries. Also the Belarusian Football Federation, Russia’s political and military ally”
This is not a list of rebels, but involved in the matter
However, all of this does not mean that Russia is turning against all the national unions mentioned in its appeal. It is not about pointing a finger at the countries boycotting it. It is an important formal procedure. As one of the specialists dealing with sports law informed us, Swiss law should cover all entities that may be affected by the outcome of the case. Failure to do so may be treated as a procedural error that could destroy the entire appeal. The Lausanne Tribunal may find that a party has been deprived of an opportunity to refer to the case. So the Russian lawyers did their job conscientiously.
The list of federations included in the appeal includes countries with which one of the Russian football or league teams was to compete in the near future. For example, Malta and Montenegro were to play against Russia in the women’s World Cup qualifying match. Luxembourg, Denmark, Austria and France are rivals of one of the youth teams. These are playing, among others Euro qualification. Greece or Belarus are the closest rivals of the Russian U-17 team.
From this perspective, it is clear that Russia will not be fighting in front of CAS only to play a match with Poland for the World Cup in Qatar, but above all not to fall out of the qualifiers for other tournaments. In total, the Russians were to play a dozen or so matches in the coming month – the next one, the match of the Polish U17 national team, was scheduled for March 13. If CAS doesn’t get to the bottom of it quickly, the ball will be a mess right now.
Relocation of play-offs as a collateral
After the decisions of FIFA and UEFA, as well as the resulting award of a free fate to Poland in the semi-finals of its play-off path, the confusion can still be huge. The Russians appealed to CAS and it is difficult to predict what impact this move will have on FIFA’s decision. In addition, it is impossible to predict the consequences of the legal battle – especially since we only receive messages. However, there are several questions: will Russia be suspended for sure? What will happen with the Russia-Poland match? Will it not be postponed as insurance? .
– The Tribunal will have to consider the appeal also in the context of legal regulations, and not the principles of fairness and justice – said Jakub Laskowski – LAS Legal partner, director for legal affairs and sports administration at Legia Warszawa, arbitrator of the Court of Arbitration for Sport. – Already in art. 3 of the FIFA Statute, it is indicated that human rights and their protection are among the tasks. So there is a legal framework for FIFA’s decision to suspend the Russian football federation. A more complex case is the case of UEFA’s decision to throw Russian clubs, ie Spartak Moscow, out of the club competition. They may argue that they are privately owned, are not related to the Russian state, or oligarchs or companies subject to international sanctions, and that they suffer severe consequences of the current geopolitical situation, the lawyer added.
CAS said in a press release that it should deal with the matter this week. Especially that the play-off between Russia and Poland was planned for March 24.
– CAS can also provide security to Russia, if Russia asked for it. – assessed in turn Mateusz Stankiewicz, attorney-at-law dealing with sports law.
Source: Sport
Tristin is an accomplished author and journalist, known for his in-depth and engaging writing on sports. He currently works as a writer at 247 News Agency, where he has established himself as a respected voice in the sports industry.
