Role Of Court Of Arbitration For Sports In Resolving Financial Disputes In Football
- IJLLR Journal
- May 9
- 2 min read
Harsh Malpani, LLM, Maharashtra National Law University
ABSTRACT
This doctrinal research investigates the significant role of the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in adjudicating financial conflicts in professional football. It does so by examining: (1) the scope and authority of CAS to resolve such disputes, as provided by FIFA Statutes Art. 57; (2) the procedural frameworks under which CAS may conduct business in both its Ordinary Division and the Appeals Division; (3) the impact of CAS jurisprudence on the sport's commercialization of €35 billion+, through issues of player transfers, broadcasting rights and sponsorships; and (4) how key CAS awards, rendered between 2010 and 2026 (following the RSTP reforms), resolve the central disputes arising from unpaid transfer fees that have an acceleration clause; salary breaches that constitute just cause for termination; training compensation/solidarity payments (RSTP Annexe 4); and UEFA’s Financial Fair Play (FFP) and Financial Sustainability Regulations (FSR) that may serve as criteria for evaluating the effectiveness of CAS awards, as exemplified in the landmark case Manchester City v. UEFA (CAS 2020/A/6785).
The study also critically assesses the various issues that persist, including procedural delays (12 - 18 months average), independence issues regarding the selection of ICAS arbitrators, lack of transparency regarding the publication of awards, and the difficulty in providing consistent RSTP Art. 17 damage calculations, while examining the enforceability of these disputes in accordance with the New York Convention. Finally, the findings confirm that CAS is a cornerstone of lex sportiva, provides contractual certainty, ensures financial discipline and maintains competitive balance through CAS’s procedure, and therefore make several recommendations for targeting reform - expedited financial divisions, requiring an economic amicus curiae in a financial dispute, improved integration of digital clearinghouses, and transparency measures that conform to the standards set forth by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR).
Keywords: CAS, football arbitration, financial disputes, RSTP, FFP, FSR, transfer fees, training compensation, lex sportiva, FIFA DRC, UEFA.
