Zakho Sports Club v. Iraqi Football Association (IFA)

At a glance

Parties

Zakho Sports Club (Iraq) v. Iraqi Football Association (IFA)

Case no.

CAS 2024/A/10316

Forum and rules

Court of Arbitration for Sport, appeal arbitration under the CAS Code of Sports-related Arbitration

Treaty

IFA Statutes, Articles 63.3, 65.3 and 66.3 (basis of CAS jurisdiction)

Panel

Mr Jonathan Hall (Sole Arbitrator)

Sector

Football; disciplinary proceedings; foreign player registration

Outcome

Appeal dismissed (10 March 2025). CAS had jurisdiction, but Zakho lacked standing to sue and the IFA lacked standing to be sued alone, because Al Shorta FC and its supervisor were not made respondents.

Amount

No damages claimed. The overturned December Decision had fined Al Shorta FC 15,000,000 Iraqi Dinars. The costs paragraphs of the operative part are not reproduced in the published award.

The dispute

Zakho Sports Club protested to the IFA Disciplinary Committee after its Iraq Stars League match against Al Shorta FC on 8 December 2023. It alleged that Al Shorta had fielded ineligible foreign players in breach of the league's rules on players from countries ranked 90 or more. On 17 December 2023 the Committee upheld the protest: Al Shorta lost the match 3-0, was fined 15,000,000 Iraqi Dinars, and its supervisor was suspended for two months. On 8 January 2024, after Al Shorta requested a review, the same Committee abolished that decision, validated the registration of Al Shorta's six professional players and clarified the foreign-player rule from round 13 onwards. Zakho appealed against the IFA alone. It argued that only the IFA Appeals Committee could review the December Decision, that the review grounds in Article 162 of the IFA Disciplinary Code were not met, and that the decision was unsigned. The IFA argued that CAS lacked jurisdiction because the decision was final and Zakho had not gone to the Iraqi Sports Settlement and Arbitration Center, and that Al Shorta should have been named as a respondent.

Key holdings

1. CAS has jurisdiction. Article 57.1 of the FIFA Statutes is not, by itself, a specific arbitration agreement between the parties. Article 151 of the IFA Disciplinary Code covers only Appeals Committee decisions. But Articles 63.3, 65.3 and 66.3 of the IFA Statutes provide for an appeal to CAS "in the last instance" in disputes of national dimension. ¶¶ 44–49
2. Internal remedies were exhausted. The IFA gave no evidence that the Iraqi Sports Settlement and Arbitration Center was an available remedy. Article 162(4) of the IFA Disciplinary Code makes a review decision final and not subject to appeal. ¶¶ 51–54
3. The appeal is admissible. It was filed on 25 January 2024, within 21 days of notification on 8 January 2024. ¶¶ 56–58
4. Standing to sue and to be sued is a merits issue, not one of admissibility. With no submissions on Iraqi law, the Sole Arbitrator applied Swiss law on this point under Article 16.2 PILA. ¶ 65
5. Zakho lacks standing to sue. The parts of the decision that annulled the sanctions directly affect only Al Shorta FC and its supervisor. The league-wide rule clarifications cannot be separated from those parts. Zakho therefore has no legal interest in challenging the decision. ¶¶ 66–69
6. The IFA lacks standing to be sued alone. Granting the appeal would reinstate sanctions against Al Shorta FC and its supervisor, who were not parties. They should have been named as respondents, and the IFA is not the party best suited to defend their interests. ¶¶ 71–74
7. The appeal is dismissed, and all other prayers for relief are dismissed. Operative part

Procedural history

1. 8 December 2023Zakho v. Al Shorta FC match in the Iraq Stars League. Zakho files a protest with the IFA Disciplinary Committee the same day.
2. 17 December 2023The IFA Disciplinary Committee upholds the protest and sanctions Al Shorta FC and its supervisor. The decision is notified to Zakho on 23 December 2023.
3. 8 January 2024On Al Shorta's request for review, the same Committee abolishes the December Decision and declares its new decision final and unappealable.
4. 25 January 2024Zakho files its Statement of Appeal with CAS against the IFA.
5. 16 May 2024Zakho files its Appeal Brief. The IFA files its Answer on 23 June 2024.
6. 26 June 2024Jonathan Hall is appointed Sole Arbitrator by the President of the CAS Appeals Arbitration Division.
7. 20 September 2024Hearing by videoconference.
8. 10 March 2025Award: CAS has jurisdiction, but the appeal is dismissed for lack of standing.

Tribunal, counsel and experts

Decided by

• Jonathan Hall Sole arbitrator, Court of Arbitration for Sport — appointed by the institution

For the claimant

Islam Hisham · Shimaa El Daly · Alfonso Leon Lleo · Gytis Rackauskas

For the respondent

IFA Relations Department · Ali Saleem Jaber · Abdelrahman Hashish

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Keywords

• football
• Iraq Stars League
• Al Shorta
• foreign players
• ineligible players
• standing to sue
• standing to be sued
• necessary party
• disciplinary review
• Article 162 IFA Disciplinary Code
• exhaustion of internal remedies
• CAS jurisdiction
• Article R47 CAS Code
• FIFA Statutes Article 57
• Iraqi Sports Settlement and Arbitration Center
• match protest

Summary generated with AI from the published documents — refer to the award for the authoritative text.