Court of Arbitration for Sport
Also called CAS
CAS is the independent arbitration body in Lausanne that hears appeals against final FIFA decisions, including decisions involving football agents.
Three rules decide most of what happens in practice.
The deadline is 21 days from receipt of the decision. It is short, it runs from receipt rather than from when anyone read it properly, and missing it ends the matter whatever its merits.
Recourse to CAS is only available once all other internal channels have been exhausted. An appeal filed while an internal route is still open is inadmissible, and the time spent finding that out is time off the 21 days.
An appeal does not suspend the decision being appealed. The appropriate FIFA body, or CAS itself, may order suspensive effect, but it has to be applied for. A registration ban or a restriction on playing continues to run while the appeal is heard unless someone asks for it not to.
Some appeals do not lie to CAS at all: violations of the Laws of the Game, suspensions of up to four matches or up to three months other than doping decisions, decisions on recognition of a national dispute resolution chamber, and decisions appealable to a recognised independent arbitration tribunal.
Worked example
A decision arrives by email while the office is closed for a fortnight.
The 21 days ran from receipt. Nine of them are gone before anyone opens it, and the sanction has been in force the whole time.
Source: FIFA Statutes, May 2024 edition, arts. 49, 50 and 51
Related terms
- Football TribunalThe Football Tribunal is the body that decides football disputes and regulatory applications, through three chambers: the Dispute Resolution Chamber, the Players’ Status Chamber and the Agents Chamber.
- Agents ChamberThe Agents Chamber is the chamber of the Football Tribunal that decides disputes involving football agents.
- Limitation periodA limitation period is the time after which a matter can no longer be pursued, regardless of what happened, and football runs several of different lengths.