CAS 2023/A/10255 Yeni Mersin Idman Yurdu A.S. vs Danilo Petrolli Bueno & FIFA
CAS · Football (FIFA / CAS) · Switzerland · 28 May 2025
Why it matters
This case clarifies the limitation period for claims against sporting successor clubs under FIFA regulations. The CAS panel held that the five-year limitation period runs from the date the original decision becomes binding, and that a claim against a successor club is time-barred if filed more than five years after the last procedural act. It also established that sporting succession is not an infringement per se; the successor only becomes non-compliant after a formal assessment.
Summary
The case concerns a dispute over whether Yeni Mersin Idman Yurdu A.S. (YM2) is the sporting successor to Mersin Idman Yurdu SK (YM1) and thus liable for debts owed to former player Danilo Petrolli Bueno. In 2015, the FIFA DRC ordered YM1 to pay Mr Bueno EUR 29,097 plus interest. YM1 failed to pay, and in 2017 the FIFA Disciplinary Committee imposed sanctions. In 2023, Mr Bueno filed a new complaint against YM2, arguing it was YM1's sporting successor. The FIFA DISCO agreed, finding YM2 liable and imposing a fine and transfer ban. YM2 appealed to CAS, arguing it was not the successor and that the claim was time-barred. The CAS panel focused on the limitation issue. Under Article 10 FDC, the limitation period for disciplinary proceedings is five years, running from the date the decision becomes final and binding. The original DRC decision became binding in 2016, and the 2017 DISCO decision interrupted the period, which then ran from its notification on 1 November 2017. Mr Bueno filed his claim on 8 September 2023, more than five years later. The panel held that the claim was time-barred and that the FIFA bodies should not have entertained it. The panel also noted that sporting succession is not an infringement; the successor only becomes liable after a formal assessment. Therefore, the appeal was upheld, the Appealed Decision was set aside, and the costs were split between the respondents.
The detail
Parties: CAS 2023/A/10255 Yeni Mersin Idman Yurdu A.S. vs Danilo Petrolli Bueno & FIFA
Outcome: The appeal was upheld; the FIFA Disciplinary Committee decision was set aside. The claim was time-barred.
Applicable law: FIFA Disciplinary Code (FDC) Articles 10 and 21; FIFA Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players (RSTP) Article 25
Issues in play: The key issue was whether the player's claim against the alleged sporting successor club was time-barred under the five-year limitation period in Article 10 FDC, and whether sporting succession itself constitutes an infringement.
Read the full decision at Court of Arbitration for Sport (football, via FIFA) ↗
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