CAS confirms the decision of the African Football Confederation (CAF) to postpone the match to 14 June 2021 but refers the matter back to CAF to decide any possible sanctions against the Sierra Leone FA

The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) ruled today on the appeal filed by the Fédération béninoise de football (FBF) following the decision to postpone the match Sierra Leone – Benin counting for the qualifiers of the CAN Total Cameroon 2021. On 30 March 2021, Sierra Leone was supposed to host this match against Benin, which was eventually cancelled by CAF due to infringements committed by the Sierra Leone FA (SLFA) in the CAF sanitary protocol. As a consequence, CAF recognized the failures in the Covid-19 testing procedures and ordered the postponement of the match to 14 June 2021. The SLFA appealed against that decision – requesting that the match be forfeited by the FBF – and this appeal was dismissed by the CAF Jury of Appeal. In parallel, the FBF filed a complaint at the CAF and filed several requests for disciplinary sanctions and financial compensations against the SLFA. The CAF has joined the FBF requests to the procedure involving the SLFA, but the CAF Jury of Appeal did not entertain them in its decision. The FBF has then filed the same claims and requests at the CAS, including a request to exclude the SLFA of the CAN Total Cameroon 2021 and/or to declare the SLFA as the loser of the match by 3-0. The CAS has partially upheld the appeal filed by the FBF: 1. The decision to postpone the match and to schedule it for 14 June 2021 is confirmed. 2. The request to find that the SLFA has forfeited and/or withdrawn from the competition CAN Total Cameroon 2021 is dismissed. 3. The request to declare the SLFA as the loser by 3-0 of the CAN Total Cameroon 2021 qualifiers against the FBF to be played on 30 March 2021 is dismissed. 4. The request to pronounce sanctions against SLFA and to order SLFA to pay damages to FBF is referred back to CAF in order to be assigned to the competent CAF Bodies. The CAS has issued its decision, without the grounds, which will be notified to the parties in the coming weeks

Thursday, 10 June 2021