Sport Arbitration Court has registered 10 Russian appeals against International Federations for vetoing athletes over violating the Olympic Truce

The Lausanne-based Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has now registered 10 appeals by Russian federations against the decisions by various International Federations to suspend representatives of Russia as a result of the invasion of Ukraine.

This wave of Russian lawsuits was expected by sports justice experts.

What was unexpected for the Russian authorities was the reaction of the IOC and international sports organizations after accusing President Vladimir Putin of violating the commitment of the Olympic Truce approved by 193 nations in the United Nations, due to the invasion of Ukraine on February 24th.

The wide spectrum of sanctions against Russian sports federations has sadly isolated many Russian athletes.

Although the CAS published a list of 10 appeals on its official website, next week this number could increase.

The Russian press assured that the Russian Chess Federation filed an appeal against the decision of the World Chess Federation (FIDE) to suspend Sergey Karjakin from international tournaments for a period of six months.

On February 28, Karjakin published an open letter supporting Russia’s “special military operation” in Ukraine. FIDE sanctioned Karjakin considering his public statements had damaged the reputation of chess and FIDE.

“Special military operation” is the official Russian term for the invasion of Ukraine. Karjakin, 32, is currently ranked 18th on the FIDE ranking list.

More than 50 Russian national sports federations plan to file an appeal with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in Lausanne, Switzerland, according to Sports Minister Oleg Matytsin.

The Russian defense will be presented by national specialists and not by Swiss law firms. Given the current circumstances, the Swiss experts refused to work with Russia’s claims.

The summary of the procedures pending before the CAS as they relate to the appeals process by Russian athletes, federations and teams, was published on their website and reads as follows:

1- Russian Football Union (RFU) against FIFA, UEFA and against the football associations of Poland, Sweden, the Czech Republic, Montenegro and Malta.

2. RFU against UEFA, football associations of Greece, Belarus, Denmark, Luxembourg, Austria, Malta, Portugal, England, Spain, Ireland and France.

(In the two previous appeals, the Panel of arbitrators is currently being constituted. A procedural calendar has not yet been established)

3. RFU v. FIFA, Polish, Swedish and Czech Republic football federations (on March 30 RFU informed CAS that it withdrew its appeal. This procedure will end shortly. The withdrawn claim related only to the Cup qualifying matches of the World of 2022 and the Russian request to postpone those meetings, which did not bear fruit.

4. Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) vs. European Olympic Committees (EOC). Russia seeks to overturn the decision that prohibits its athletes and officials from participating in all competitions organized by EOCs including the 2022 Summer and Winter European Youth Olympic Festivals. The appeal was rejected at first instance. A panel of referees will decide.

5. Russian Skating Union, Russian Figure Skating Federation, and four Russian skaters vs. International Skating Union.

6. Russian Biathlon Union vs. International Biathlon Union.

7. Russian Rowing Federation vs International Rowing Federation.

8. Russian Rugby Federation vs World Rugby Council.

9. Russian Federation of Artistic Gymnastics, three Russian gymnasts and a judge vs. International Gymnastics Federation (FIG)

10. Russian Federation of Artistic Gymnastics, three Russian gymnasts and a judge vs. European Union of Gymnastics (UEG).

According to “Izvestia”, “the Ministry of Sports will continue to ensure the participation of Russian athletes in international competitions abroad in various states, but only with the guarantee of security measures of the host state”.