Bär & Karrer Successfully Assisted the Peruvian Football Federation in a CAS Proceeding

The proceedings concerned a qualification match for the 2018 FIFA World Cup tournament in Russia between the national teams of Bolivia and Peru. During this match the selection of Bolivia fielded a player who according to FIFA Regulations was not eligible to play. The FIFA Disciplinary Committee opened investigations after having been informed of the irregularities and the FIFA Appeals Committee (final instance within FIFA) ordered the match to be forfeited and awarded 3-0 in favour of Peru.

Against this decision, the Bolivian Football Federation appealed before the Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS). The major contentious issue concerned the relation between the various FIFA regulations, i.e. the FIFA's right to initiate disciplinary investigation ex officio according to the FIFA Disciplinary Codeand the time limits to file protests according to the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia Regulations.

On 29 August 2017, the CAS dismissed the appeal and confirmed the forfeit victory by 3-0 for the Peruvian national team.

Bär & Karrer assisted the Peruvian Football Federation in this proceedings. The team included Michele Bernasconi, Luca Tarzia and Lukas Stocker (all Sports arbitration).