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Circular no. 1867: Failure to respect settlement agreements – competence of the FIFA Disciplinary Committee

Circular no. 1867: Failure to respect settlement agreements – competence of the FIFA Disciplinary Committee

TO THE MEMBER ASSOCIATIONS OF FIFA

Circular no. 1867

Zurich, 7 December 2023

Failure to respect settlement agreements – competence of the FIFA Disciplinary Committee

Dear Sir or Madam,

On 16 December 2022, the FIFA Council adopted the 2023 edition of the FIFA Disciplinary Code (FDC – cf. FIFA circular no. 1833).

In this respect, and in line with FIFA’s commitment to achieving (financial) justice, a number of important changes were made to article 21 of the FDC (formerly art. 15, 2019 edition).

Amongst others, one such amendment was the inclusion of article 21 paragraph 9 of the FDC in order to grant the FIFA Disciplinary Committee the competence to enforce private settlement agreements concluded in the context of disciplinary proceedings opened against a debtor with respect to a final and binding decision issued by FIFA or the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) 1

In this context, in light of the number of settlement agreements concluded by parties in connection with financial decisions and the related volume of requests received by the FIFA administration, the purpose of this circular is to clarify the scope and/or the application of this provision.

a. Settlement agreements concluded in the context of disciplinary proceedings opened against a debtor

Prior to the entry into force of the 2023 edition of the FDC, the conclusion of a settlement agreement would lead to the termination of (or prevent the initiation of) disciplinary proceedings. Indeed, in accordance with FIFA circular no. 1628, non-compliance with the agreement had to be resolved by the Football Tribunal or the relevant competent body as chosen by the parties.

As such, with a view to avoiding this need for parties to initiate a new procedure before the Football Tribunal or the relevant competent body to enforce such a settlement agreement, the FDC was amended in order to provide the Disciplinary Committee with the competence to enforce such agreements, this being provided that the applicable settlement concluded was directly linked to a final and binding financial decision issued by FIFA or CAS.

More specifically, if, following the opening/initiation of disciplinary proceedings in relation to (non-compliance with) a financial decision passed by FIFA (the Football Tribunal) or CAS, the parties decide to settle their dispute by means of a private settlement agreement, the Disciplinary Committee is now, pursuant to article 21 paragraph 9 of the FDC, competent to enforce such an agreement without the need for a new complaint to be lodged before the Football Tribunal (or the relevant competent body as chosen by the parties).

For the sake of good order, we would like to clarify that this procedure shall exclusively apply to those agreements concluded following the entry into force of the 2023 edition of the FDC, i.e. as from 1 February 2023.

b. Settlement agreements concluded after a financial decision passed by a body, a committee, a subsidiary or an instance of FIFA or by CAS

Based on its wording, the scope of article 21 paragraph 9 of the FDC should, in principle, be limited to those agreements concluded “in the context of disciplinary proceedings opened against a debtor with respect to a final and binding financial decision issued by a body, a committee, a subsidiary or an instance of FIFA or by CAS”

Notwithstanding the foregoing and taking into account the rationale behind the implementation of such provision as explained supra., it is considered that the competence granted to the Disciplinary Committee under article 21 paragraph 9 of the FDC shall also cover agreements concluded after any decision passed by a body, a committee, a subsidiary or an instance of FIFA or by CAS.

In other words, following the notification of such decision rendered by FIFA or CAS, if the relevant parties then conclude a private settlement agreement in order to settle their dispute, the Disciplinary Committee shall also be competent to enforce such agreement in accordance with article 21 paragraph 9 of the FDC, without the need for a new complaint to be lodged before the Football Tribunal (or the relevant competent body as chosen by the parties).

Similarly, the above shall exclusively apply to those agreements concluded following the entry into force of the 2023 edition of the FDC, i.e. as from 1 February 2023. 

c. Other settlement agreements

Finally, and for the sake of good order, we would like to clarify that any settlement agreement concluded outside of the framework(s) stipulated above, i.e. any settlement falling outside of the remits of sections a. or b. supra, will remain subject to the provisions of FIFA circular no. 1628.

Consequently, any claim arising from a breach of these types of agreements shall still be lodged before the Football Tribunal or before the relevant competent bodies at national or international level, as mutually agreed by the parties.

Should you have any questions, please contact Julien Deux, Head of Judicial Bodies (Adjudicatory) at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

We thank you for your kind attention to the above and for ensuring that your affiliated clubs are informed accordingly.

Yours faithfully,

FÉDÉRATION INTERNATIONALE

DE FOOTBALL ASSOCIATION

The FIFA Disciplinary Committee opens disciplinary proceedings against Luis Rubiales, President of the Spanish FA

The FIFA Disciplinary Committee opens disciplinary proceedings against Luis Rubiales, President of the Spanish FA

The FIFA Disciplinary Committee informed Luis Rubiales, President of the Spanish Football Association, today that it is opening disciplinary proceedings against him based on the events that occurred during the final of the FIFA Women’s World Cup™ on 20 August 2023.

The events may constitute violations of article 13 paragraphs 1 and 2 of the FIFA Disciplinary Code.

The FIFA Disciplinary Committee will only provide further information on these disciplinary proceedings once it has issued a final decision on the matter.

FIFA reiterates its unwavering commitment to respecting the integrity of all individuals and strongly condemns any behaviour to the contrary.

FIFA Disciplinary Committee sanctions the Equatorial Guinean Football Association and the player Emilio Nsue López on grounds of ineligibility

FIFA Disciplinary Committee sanctions the Equatorial Guinean Football Association and the player Emilio Nsue López on grounds of ineligibility

The FIFA Disciplinary Committee has rendered its decisions in relation to proceedings opened against both the Equatorial Guinean Football Association (FEGUIFUT) and the player Emilio Nsue López with regards to the latter’s participation in several matches of the national team of Equatorial Guinea, including two matches in the ongoing FIFA World Cup 2026™ preliminary competition, despite being ineligible.

After considering all elements brought before it, the FIFA Disciplinary Committee was comfortably satisfied that the player was ineligible and consequently decided to declare the matches of the FIFA World Cup 2026™ preliminary competition in which the player was fielded (namely Equatorial Guinea v. Namibia and Liberia v. Equatorial Guinea played on 15 November 2023 and 20 November 2023, respectively) lost by forfeit by Equatorial Guinea (by a score of 3-0).

In addition, the FIFA Disciplinary Committee imposed the following sanctions:

  • a fine amounting to CHF 150,000 upon FEGUIFUT; and
  • a six-month ban from playing for any representative team of any association upon the player Emilio Nsue López.

The FIFA Disciplinary Committee’s findings were notified today to the parties concerned. In accordance with the relevant provisions of the FIFA Disciplinary Code, the parties have ten days in which to request a motivated decision, which, if requested, would subsequently be published on legal.fifa.com. The present decisions remain subject to an appeal before the FIFA Appeal Committee.

The FIFA Disciplinary Committee provisionally suspends Luis Rubiales, president of the RFEF

The FIFA Disciplinary Committee provisionally suspends Luis Rubiales, president of the RFEF

The chairman of the FIFA Disciplinary Committee, Jorge Ivan Palacio (Colombia), in use of the powers granted by article 51 of the FIFA Disciplinary Code (FDC), has decided today to provisionally suspend Mr. Luis Rubiales from all football-related activities at national and international level. This suspension, which will be effective as of today, is for an initial period of 90 days, pending the disciplinary proceedings opened against Mr. Luis Rubiales on Thursday, August 24.

Likewise, the chairman of the FIFA Disciplinary Committee and in order to preserve, among other factors, the fundamental rights of the national soccer team player Ms. Jennifer Hermoso and the good order of the disciplinary proceedings before this disciplinary body, has issued two additional directives (article 7 FDC) by which he orders Mr. Luis Rubiales to refrain, through himself or third parties, from contacting or attempting to contact the professional player of the Spanish national football team Ms. Jennifer Hermoso or her close environment. Likewise, the RFEF and its officials or employees, directly or through third parties, are ordered to refrain from contacting the professional player of the Spanish national team Ms. Jennifer Hermoso and her close environment.

The decision adopted by the chairman of the FIFA Disciplinary Committee has been communicated today to Mr. Luis Rubiales, the RFEF and UEFA for due compliance.

The FIFA Disciplinary Committee will not provide any further information on these disciplinary proceedings until a final decision has been taken.

FIFA reiterates its absolute commitment to respect the integrity of all persons and therefore condemns with the utmost vigour any behaviour to the contrary.

Hungary sanctioned after racist behaviour towards England players

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The FIFA Disciplinary Committee has imposed a ban and a substantial fine on the Hungarian Football Federation (MLSZ) in relation to the racist behaviour of numerous supporters during the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ qualifying match between Hungary and England on 2 September 2021.

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