The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) Reduces the Sanctions of the Players Enrique Luis Triverio and Pablo Cesar Aguilar Benitez

The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has issued its decision in the appeals filed by the players Enrique Luis Triverio (Argentina) and Pablo Cesar Aguilar Benitez (Paraguay/Mexico) against the decisions issued by the Appeal Committee of the Mexican Football Federation (FMF) on 13 March 2017 in which they were sanctioned with one-year suspensions further to incidents in two separate matches wherein each player was accused of misconduct towards the referee.

CAS has annulled the decisions taken by the Appeal Committee of the FMF on 13 March 2017 and replaced them with new decisions, reinstating the original sanctions imposed by the Disciplinary Committee of the FMF; namely

 A suspension of eight (8) matches and a fine of 1,000 UMAs is imposed on Enrique Luis Triverio

 A suspension of ten (10) matches and a fine of 1,000 UMAs is imposed on Pablo César Aguilar Benítez

The match-suspensions already served by the players are to be credited against the sanctions imposed by the CAS.

On or around the 85th minute of the match between Club Toluca and Club Atlético Monarcas Morelia on 8 March 2017, the referee sent-off two Toluca players successively (both for a second yellow card). Enrique Triverio (Toluca) approached the referee and made contact with his hand on the referee’s chest. The referee immediately showed a straight red card to Triverio.

Upon having blown the whistle to end the match between Club Tijuana Xoloitzcuintles de Caliente and Club de Fútbol América on 8 March 2017, the referee was vigorously approached by Pablo Aguilar (America) and there was a contact between the two caused by the player. Also in this situation, the referee immediately showed a straight red card to the player.

The FMF has then initiated two disciplinary procedures against both players, which led to the decisions rendered first by the Disciplinary Committee and later by the Appeal Committee of the FMF.

The players filed their appeals with the CAS on 30 March 2017. While the two incidents were completely separate, the Appeal Committee of the FMF issued a single decision dealing with both cases and the two arbitrations were then consolidated before the CAS. Considering that the players were currently suspended, the parties agreed to proceed on an expedited basis. The Sole Arbitrator in charge of the procedures held a hearing in Lausanne, Switzerland on 28 April 2017 in the presence of the players, the FMF and their legal representatives.

The Sole Arbitrator considered that, in light of the evidence which was produced, the sanctions that had been imposed in the first instance by the Disciplinary Committee of the FMF were appropriate in light of the misconducts at stake and that the increased sanctions imposed by the Appeal Committee of the FMF could not be upheld.

For more information, please contact:

Matthieu Reeb

CAS Secretary General

Email: media@tas-cas.org

Tel: (41 21) 613 50 00

Katy Hogg

Communications Officer

Email: media@tas-cas.org

Tel: (41 21) 613 50 00

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