CAS upholds UEFA decision to admit Kosovo as member association
LAUSANNE: The Court of Arbitration for Sport has dismissed the appeal filed by the Football Association of Serbia against European federation UEFA.
FAS sought to annul a resolution passed at the UEFA Congress held in Budapest on May 3 in which the Football Federation of Kosovo was admitted as the 55th member association.
As a consequence, the resolution remains in force and FFK’s admission as a member association of UEFA is confirmed.
In its appeal to the CAS, FAS argued that UEFA breached its own rules in admitting FFK as a member association and that such breaches meant that FFK’s membership contract should be declared null and void.
The CAS Panel in charge of this matter noted that FAS had both standing to sue in this matter and reasonable cause to file its appeal, considering that the relevant provision of the UEFA Statutes (Article 5 (1)) was ambiguous and required clarification.
Such provision states that membership of UEFA is open to national football associations situated in the continent of Europe, based in a country which is recognised by the United Nations (UN) as an independent state.
Considering that there is no formal recognition of countries by the UN, the CAS Panel interpreted Art. 5 (1) UEFA Statutes as meaning that the territory in which the football federation is located shall be recognised by the majority of the UN member states as an “independent state”.
The CAS Panel found that this prerequisite was fulfilled with respect to FFK, and that such conclusion was also in line with the will expressed by the majority of the member federations at the UEFA Congress to accept FFK as a new UEFA member.
As a consequence, FAS’ appeal was dismissed.
For further information related to the CAS activity and procedures in general, please contact either Matthieu Reeb, CAS Secretary General, or Katy Hogg, Communications Officer. Château de Béthusy, Avenue de Beaumont 2, 1012 Lausanne, Switzerland. media@tas-cas.org; Tel: (41 21) 613 50 00; fax: (41 21) 613 50 01, or consult the CAS website: www.tas-cas.org
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