CAS 2020 A 6732
CAS · Football (FIFA / CAS) · Switzerland · 26 Jun 2020
Why it matters
This case clarifies the distinction between a 'decision' and a mere executive or administrative act in FIFA disciplinary proceedings. It confirms that only acts containing an 'animus decidendi' (intent to decide) are appealable to CAS. The ruling prevents parties from circumventing appeal deadlines by challenging implementation steps rather than the underlying decision, reinforcing the finality of disciplinary sanctions.
Summary
Club Llaneros de Guanare, a Venezuelan football club, was ordered by the FIFA Dispute Resolution Chamber (DRC) in July 2017 to pay a player (Leonardo Alexis Ossa Lopez) certain amounts. The club failed to pay in full, leading to disciplinary proceedings. On 1 July 2019, the FIFA Disciplinary Committee issued a decision (the 'Second CD Decision') finding the club guilty of non-compliance and ordering relegation of its first team if the debt remained unpaid after a final 30-day deadline. The club did not appeal that decision. On 14 January 2020, the FIFA Disciplinary Committee secretariat sent an email to the Venezuelan federation instructing it to implement the relegation, as the player had requested. The club appealed this email to CAS, arguing it was a new appealable decision. The CAS, sitting as a sole arbitrator, first bifurcated the proceedings to rule on admissibility. The arbitrator held that the email was not a 'decision' under CAS R47 because it lacked animus decidendi: it merely executed the earlier, unappealed Second CD Decision. The club's appeal was therefore inadmissible. The CAS dismissed the appeal and ordered the club to bear the arbitration costs. The case underscores that only substantive decisions, not administrative implementation steps, are appealable to CAS.
The detail
Parties: Club Llaneros de Guanare E.F. FIFA & Federaci__n Venezolana de F__tbol
Case number: CAS 2020 A 6732
Outcome: The CAS dismissed the appeal as inadmissible because the email of 14 January 2020 was not an appealable decision; the club was ordered to bear the arbitration costs.
Applicable law: FIFA Disciplinary Code (Art. 64), FIFA Statutes (Arts. 57, 58), CAS Code of Sports-related Arbitration (R47, R48, R64)
Issues in play: The key issue was whether an email from the FIFA Disciplinary Committee secretariat ordering the Venezuelan federation to implement a relegation was an appealable 'decision' under CAS procedural rules. The CAS held that only the original disciplinary decision (of 1 July 2019) was a decision; the email was a mere executive act.
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