UEFA accept possibility of Sion return in Europa League

[ian1964 10,720]

Sion will be "re-integrated" into Celtic's group if CAS rules in favour of Swiss side.

 

UEFA have urged FC Sion to recognise the authority of the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in their dispute over the Swiss club's Europa League ejection, stating that they will allow them to rejoin the competition if the ruling is in their favour.

 

The European governing body threw Sion out of the competition and reinstated Celtic in their place after disciplining the Swiss club for fielding players deemed ineligible.

 

Sion lost an appeal but took their case through the Swiss courts and obtained judgements in their favour. UEFA refused to recognise the court orders, stating that sporting competition rules were not subject to Swiss law and could only be overturned by CAS.

 

Reports in Switzerland suggested that the court order won by Sion was enforceable by Monday, prompting UEFA to issue a statement confirming that CAS was the body with the relevant authority to act, and that it had asked for a speedy resolution.

 

The statement read: "In a decision transmitted yesterday to the parties, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in Lausanne confirmed its competence to decide on the merits of the UEFA vs. FC Sion case, dismissed the demand of FC Sion to stay the proceedings, confirmed the nomination of the arbitrator originally chosen by FC Sion, stating twice in its decision the "clear abuse of CAS procedures" by FC Sion.

 

"In order to solve this case quickly and in the best interests of the competition and all its participants, UEFA filed a request for an accelerated procedure to CAS on 26 September. The Swiss civil courts have already recognised the competence of CAS to decide on the merits and so FC Sion's repeated attempts to obstruct the CAS proceedings is clearly unjustified and shows bad faith."

 

The governing body said that Sion's repeated use of the Swiss courts was not only irrelevant to the existing procedure for such disputes but also had an unsettling effect for the other clubs in Group I: Celtic, Udinese, Rennes and Atletico Madrid.

 

However, UEFA did state that Sion would be allowed back into the group if they won a decision from CAS.

 

An accelerated procedure â?? as proposed by UEFA â?? would allow FC Sion to be reintegrated to the group, provided it wins on the merits.

 

The statement continued: "This would be accepted by all the other clubs since they have agreed to the same conditions. Here we note that equality of treatment is a basic principle of sporting fairness and is also usually accepted in the courts. UEFA fails to understand why FC Sion is "abusing procedures" to delay a decision on the merits."

 

UEFA did not explain how the return of SIon would be engineered but it seems likely that creating a five team group would be a workable solution, though it would create more games for each participant in Group I. The governing body also stressed that Sion's current approach of pursuing the matter through the Swiss courts was delaying any CAS ruling and would have a further detrimental effect on the competition.

 

http://sport.stv.tv/football/scottish-premier/celtic/274868-uefa-accept-possibility-of-sion-return-in-europa-league/

[GovanAllan 0]

Five team group so the mhanks got pumped and still stay in surely then every team who got pumped out has a case to get back in.

[ian1964 10,720]

The Court of Arbitration for Sport has set November 24 as the date for its hearing into the dispute between FC Sion and UEFA.

 

The Swiss club were thrown out of the Europa League on September 2 after being found guilty of fielding ineligible players in their play-off match against Celtic, who were installed in the group stage in their place.

 

UEFA has since rejected numerous attempts by the club to regain their place via the Swiss civil court in the Canton of Vaud, insisting that the CAS is the only authority with jurisdiction over the matter.

 

The hearing date is subject to all parties' availability, and a statement on UEFA's website read: "UEFA has constantly insisted on the need for a rapid decision on the merits of the case and has therefore already confirmed its availability, in an effort to respect all of the dates proposed by the CAS."

 

http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/251020...ourt-date.html

[Guest Dutchy]

I'm not happy with lawyers constantly screwing football, but that's the consequences of all this money in the game, I suppose.

 

How can a seperate court rule that it's unfair for a team to be disqualified for breaking the rules of the competion set up by the oraganization they're members of, and every other member agrees that they should be thrown out?

[calscot 0]

I'm not happy with lawyers constantly screwing football, but that's the consequences of all this money in the game, I suppose.

 

How can a seperate court rule that it's unfair for a team to be disqualified for breaking the rules of the competion set up by the oraganization they're members of, and every other member agrees that they should be thrown out?

 

I think it's obvious that you need a separate court to rule when a club is punished and they don't think they actually broke the rules of the competition. They have to abide by the rules but as we've seen with our own league, the rules are not always fairly applied and are occasionally subjected to agendas from those in high places of the governing body. You need independent arbitration in all aspects of life as people involved find it difficult to remove their subjective point of view.

 

One of the problems here is that Sion went to a court of law instead of CAS when UEFA see the latter as the ONLY legitimate appeal court. Basically the whole thing should have been taken to and sorted out by CAS before the qualifiers started.

[ian1964 10,720]

UEFA has asked FC Sion to have their say on how the schedule of Europa League Group I will be changed, if the club are allowed back into the competition.

 

The Court of Arbitration for Sport will rule on November 24 whether the Swiss side should be reintegrated to Group I, having been expelled for fielding five ineligible players in their play-off round tie with Celtic.

 

The Scottish side met with officials from UEFA and their fellow Group I clubs – Rennes, Atletico Madrid and Udinese – last Friday to discuss the impact Sion being allowed back in would have on fixtures.

 

Various possible solutions have been put forward by the governing body, including scrapping registered results to date and starting a new, five-team group, to Sion participating in a play-off for a place in the last 32.

 

A statement from UEFA read: “After having consulted the clubs in Group I of the UEFA Europa League, UEFA has now invited FC Sion to express its views on the potential impact of the club’s possible reintegration in the UEFA Europa League, and on the match schedule in particular.

 

“Respecting the process as announced, UEFA is pursuing its consultations with the clubs that could be affected by FC Sion’s possible reintegration if the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) should decide in favour of the club. UEFA has therefore invited the FC Sion management to discuss the possibilities.

 

“If the CAS decides in favour of FC Sion in the dispute between UEFA and the Swiss club, the UEFA Europa League calendar may have to be adapted. The CAS wishes to hear both parties on 24 November.

 

“If accepted by FC Sion, this consultation could take place next week.”

 

http://sport.stv.tv/football/scottish-premier/celtic/276515-uefa-to-canvas-opinion-from-sion-over-possible-europa-league-reintegration/

[Guest Dutchy]

I'm a bit puzzled with this Calscot. The other 53 FA members agreed they broke the rules and should be kicked out. Did they break the rules or not? Have they gone to a civil court on a point of law, and ended up getting a hearing with the CAS?

 

I thought they had appealed the decision, twice and went outwith the UEFA authourities to get it revisted, that's what I was meaning by 'the law' over ruling what's been accepted by all other members. The UEFA rule may not be a law, but that's where they've gone to get their way, and I don't think there's any comparrison between being kicked out of a competitiion in which everyone knew the rule, and being a smart arse about the length of a ban.