Courts of Arbitration for Sport Rejects Appeal by Serbian FA, Upholds in Part Appeal by Albanian FA

Lausanne, 10 July 2015 – The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) issued its decisions today in twoappeal arbitration procedures arising from the UEFA European Championship qualifying Group Imatch between Serbia and Albania in Belgrade on 14 October 2014 (the Match).

The Football Association of Albania (FAA) and the Football Association of Serbia (FAS) filed appealsat the CAS against decisions issued by UEFA Appeals Body in which both associations weredisciplined further to incidents which occurred during the Match. The matter was heard at hearingswhich took place in Lausanne, Switzerland, on 16 and 17 April 2015. The parties, their legal counsel,experts and witnesses were heard by the Panel of CAS arbitrators in charge of each procedure.

The CAS has partially upheld the appeal filed by the FAA against the decision of the UEFA AppealsBody taken on 2 December 2014, in which the decision taken by the UEFA Control, Ethics andDisciplinary Body (UEFA CEDB) on 23 October 2014 was confirmed.

Pursuant to the UEFA decisions, the awarding of a forfeit against the FAA was based on the purportedrefusal of the Albanian team to resume the match after it was stopped by the referee at the 41st minutewhen a number of flares were thrown on the pitch by Serbian fans. During this stoppage, severalincidents occurred and in particular around 15 Serbian fans invaded the pitch and violently attackedthe Albanian players.

However, the CAS Panel found that the evidence did not reveal that the FAA refused to play followingan order issued by the referee. The CAS Panel was unable to ascertain to its comfortable satisfactionthat the referee issued a clear, direct and unconditional order to the players to resume the match on thebasis of a definite decision that safety had been assured.

The Panel found that the match stoppage and the eventual abandonment of the match were caused bysecurity lapses of the organizers and acts of violence exerted on the Albanian players by the Serbianfans and at least one security steward. As such, the Panel holds that the Football Association of Serbia(FAS) and not the FAA must be considered as responsible for the match not being played in full, inviolation of Article 27.01 of the Regulations of the UEFA European Football Championship 2014-2016. In light of this finding, the CAS Panel has decided that the UEFA European Championshipqualifying Group I match between Serbia and Albania be deemed to have been forfeited by the FASby the score of 0:3.

The CAS went on to find, in line with UEFA, that the FAA was responsible for the drone operatedduring the match, carrying a banner depicting Albanian nationalistic and patriotic symbols, andconfirmed the fine of EUR 100,000 imposed on the FAA.

Furthermore, with respect to the appeal filed by the FAS, the CAS has dismissed the appeal andconfirmed the decision taken by the UEFA Appeals Body on 2 December 2014. Accordingly, thesanctions ordered by the UEFA CEDB in its decision dated 23 October 2014 are confirmed, namely:

(i) the FAS is deducted three points for the current UEFA European Championship qualifiers; (ii) the

FAS is ordered to play its next two UEFA competition matches as host team behind closed doors; and

(iii) the FAS is fined EUR 100,000.

The arbitral awards will be published on the CAS website in due course.

For further information related to the CAS activity and procedures in general, please contact either Mr MatthieuReeb, CAS Secretary General, or Ms Katy Hogg, Communications Officer. Château de Béthusy, Avenue deBeaumont 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

20 Years at #1: Your best source of news about the Olympics is www.aroundtherings.com, for subscribers only