Lawyers assessed the chances of the RFU to recover damages due to disqualification from FIFA

The Russian Football Union can seek compensation for profits from sponsorship contracts, which it could not receive due to the disqualification of the Russian national team, both through the COURT of Arbitration for Sport and through the courts of general state jurisdiction in Switzerland. Sergey Alekseev, chairman of the commission on sports law of the Russian Bar Association, told RBC Sport about this.

“We are talking about a civil lawsuit, that is, for the losses incurred by the RFU as a result of the decisions of FIFA and UEFA. Sponsorship obligations have been violated. If it doesn’t come out through CAS, then it’s worth going to the courts of general state jurisdiction at the location of the defendant, that is, to the courts of Switzerland,” Alekseev said.

Alekseev said that from the point of view of law, the Russian Football Union is right and therefore has a high chance of success in the Swiss courts

“From a formal point of view, all laws are on the side of the RFU, so the chances of success in court should be high. FIFA decisions in many respects contradict such generally recognized principles of sports law as non-interference of politics in sports and the prohibition of discrimination. All measures of responsibility against persons who did not violate anything are unlawful. This is an abuse of the right on the part of international sports functionaries, ”Alekseev believes.

The HEAD of the sports practice of the legal agency Clever Consult, Anna Antseliovich, said that the chances of satisfying the claim of the RFU against FIFA in terms of compensation for losses are 50%.

“The case for sports law is somewhat unique, so the chances of success or failure of the case are approximately equal, 50/50. It should be borne in mind that the political factor also played a role in the removal of the Russian team, which sports functionaries do not even hide. It is difficult now to say about the approximate amounts of such costs, they are spelled out in contracts that are confidential,” Anceliovich said.

Earlier, the Championship publication reported that the RFU plans to file another lawsuit with CAS against FIFA and UEFA for compensation for losses incurred due to decisions to disqualify the Russian national team after the start of a special military operation in Ukraine.

RBC turned to the RFU for a comment.

“We are talking about compensation for monetary costs due to the suspension of sponsorship agreements, as well as the suspension of payments for children and youth programs that were launched at the initiative of FIFA and UEFA and are regulated by previously concluded contracts,” added the interlocutor of the “Championship”.

On April 12, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) published the reasoning of its decision, which confirmed the removal of the Russian national team from the play-offs for entering the World Cup in Qatar. According to the release, CAS upheld the exclusion of the Russian team, so as not to violate the sporting principle.

In March, FIFA and UEFA jointly suspended Russian national and club teams from international competitions, due to which the Russian team was excluded from the list of participants in the 2022 World Cup play-offs.

At the same time, CAS denied applications to suspend the decision of FIFA and UEFA for the duration of the proceedings and did not return the Russian team to the play-offs.