CAS rejects Nakhid bid to overturn rejection from FIFA election race
LAUSANNE: David Nakhid, the former Trinidad and Tobago midfielder, has lost his appeal to sport’s supreme court to be allowed to stand, after all, in the FIFA presidential election on February 26 writes KEIR RADNEDGE.
Nakhid submitted what he thought were the necessary minimum five written nominations from national associations. However the electoral committee rejected his candidacy because one of the associations – the United States Virgin Islands – had also nominated another contender.
However a panel at the Court of Arbitration for Sport found, indeed, that one member association had issued declarations of support to two candidates, including one for Nakhid, “in violation of the applicable FIFA rules.”
A statement added: “As a consequence, those letters of support were disregarded, meaning that David Nakhid had not met the qualifying criterion of obtaining declarations of support from at least five member associations,and accordingly, his candidature could not be validated.”
CAS statement
The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has issued its decision in the appeal filed by David Nakhid against the FIFA Ad hoc Electoral Committee’s decision of 28 October 2015 (the FIFA AEC Decision) in which his candidacy for the upcoming FIFA presidential election was refused.
The CAS has dismissed the appeal and upheld the FIFA AEC Decision.
In its decision of 28 October 2015, the FIFA AEC found that Mr Nakhid had not presented declarations of support from at least five member associations, and for this reason, could not be admitted as a candidate for the election for the office of FIFA President on 26 February 2016.
In appealing to the CAS on 13 November 2015, Mr Nakhid sought the annulment of the challenged decision and an order that his candidacy be reinstated.
In line with the FIFA AEC, the CAS Panel found that one member association had issued declarations of support to two candidates, including one for Mr Nakhid, in violation of the applicable FIFA rules.
As a consequence, those letters of support were disregarded, meaning that David Nakhid had not met the qualifying criterion of obtaining declarations of support from at least five member associations,and accordingly, his candidature could not be validated.
The full award with the grounds will be notified to the parties in a few days.
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