GENEVA, 23 Feb – The appeal of the Russian Football Union (RFU) to the Swiss court against the decision of the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) to remove Russian teams from international tournaments by the International Football Federation (FIFA) and the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) was rejected because the documents were sent too late, according to a published ruling on the website of the Swiss Federal Court of Justice.

The Swiss judges recall that an appeal must be filed within 30 days of notification of the full dispatch of the contested decision, and that this period cannot be extended.

The decision clarifies that in this case the statutory time limit for filing an appeal expired on 13 January 2023, since the CAS decision was communicated to the Russian side on 28 November 2022.

Earlier, the International Football Federation (FIFA) and the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) published a joint statement according to which Russian teams and clubs were suspended from participation in all international competitions for an indefinite period. In this regard, the Russian team was excluded from the play-offs for reaching the World Cup in Qatar. In mid-July, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) rejected the RFU’s appeals against the decisions of FIFA and UEFA. In September, UEFA decided not to allow the Russian national team to the draw for the qualifying tournament of the European Championship – 2024.