|
The Court of Arbitration in Sport (CAS) has rejected
Ashley Cole's appeal against the £75,000 fine
imposed on him
by the Premier League following the Chelsea tapping-up
saga.
The CAS ruled that they have no jurisdiction in the case,
because PL rules make no mention of them, and in fact state
that the decision of the PL appeal board should be final
(Cole's fine had already been reduced from £100,000 by that
board). The CAS statement says, "The fact that the Fifa statutes
do allow appeals to the CAS against decisions rendered by national
federations or leagues is not sufficient to establish the
jurisdiction of the CAS if there is no direct reference to
CAS arbitration in the regulations of the body whose decision
is being appealed against."
Everyone in football, except the players, will be please with
this. If Cole gets the rules changed then it could throw the
transfer system into chaos and give players complete freedom
to move. But this may not be the end of the story.
Cole, along with his advisors, is now considering his options,
and a further
appeal to a civil or European court is now
possible. Earlier statements from his team had suggested that
they'll take it as far as they can.
|
