Swiss Federal Tribunal rules on clause excluding FIFA & CAS jurisdiction through footballer’s employment contract

Wednesday, 15 May 2024 Author: Dr Despina Mavromati

This article deals with a recent decision of the Swiss Federal Tribunal (“SFT”) relating to a dispute between a footballer and his club. The case centers on the interpretation of a jurisdiction clause within the player's contract and the role of the Court of Arbitration for Sport (">CAS") in such matters.

The case examines the aspect of ‘international dimension’ as enshrined under the FIFA Regulation on the Status and Transfer of Players (“RSTP”) in relation to the jurisdiction of FIFA and CAS in relation to employment disputes and the possibility of excluding their jurisdiction in favour of national courts.

This decision is available here: 4A_430/2023, judgment of 23 February 2024, challenge of the CAS Award 2022/A/8571 of 6 July 2023.

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Hits 9074 Posted in Blogs | Despina Mavromati | Dispute Resolution | Articles | Regulation & Governance

Tags: Arbitration | Code of Sports Related Arbitration (CAS Code) | Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) | FIFA | FIFA Regulation on Status and Transfer of Players (FIFA RSTP) | Football | Governance | Hungary | Regulation | Switzerland

Written by

Dr Despina Mavromati

Despina Mavromati is a Swiss and Greek attorney-at-law based in Lausanne, a UEFA Club Financial Control Body Member and an arbitrator at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). She has extensive experience in international sports law and arbitration. She represents athletes, clubs and federations and advises on regulatory and sports governance matters, including the recognition and enforcement of awards and freezing of assets in Switzerland.

Despina has acted as arbitrator, counsel, co-counsel, expert or arbitrator in numerous sports arbitrations, involving contractual, governance, doping-related and other disciplinary and ethics matters. Recognized as a Thought Leader by Who’s Who Legal in Switzerland every year since 2018, “Despina Mavromati is “brilliant and accomplished” and “an amazing lawyer with immense knowledge and expertise when it comes to disputes before the CAS” (Who’s Who Legal 2023).