Appeal of Hatem Ben Arfa dismissed by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS)

The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has dismissed the appealfiled by the French football player Hatem Ben Arfa against a decision taken by the Single Judge ofthe FIFA Players’ Status Committee.

In August 2010, Hatem Ben Arfa signed to Newcastle United football club in England. During the2014/2015 season he played one match for their under 21 team in the U21 ProfessionalDevelopment League before being transferred on loan to Hull City, where he played in a number ofofficial matches. In January 2015, the player’s employment contract with Newcastle United wasterminated by mutual consent and Hatem Ben Arfa signed a contract to play for O.G.C. Nice Côted’Azur until the end of the 2014/2015 season. Before validating the contract, the French Professional Football League (LFP) asked the French Football Federation (FFF) to obtainclarification from the FIFA Players’ Status Department as to the official character of the U21 PDLmatch played by Hatem Ben Arfa. Specifically, whether matches played in this league could beconsidered "official matches" given that the FIFA Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players(RSTP) stipulate that a player may be registered with a maximum of three different clubs duringone season, and that during that period, the player is only eligible to play official matches for twoclubs.

On 30 January 2015, the Single Judge of the FIFA Player’s Status Committee issued a decision (theFIFA Decision) confirming to the FFF that matches played in England in the context of the U21PDL were considered to be official matches. In light of FIFA’s response, the LFP validated thecontract between Hatem Ben Arfa and O.G.C. Nice but with the restriction that the player could notparticipate in official matches for O.G.C. Nice until the end of the 2014/2015 season.

Tribunal Arbitral du Sport Court of Arbitration for Sport

In his appeal to the CAS, Hatem Ben Arfa sought the annulment of the FIFA Decision. The decisionof the LFP to restrict Hatem ben Arfa’s ability to play for O.G.C. Nice was not challenged by theplayer before the relevant bodies.

The CAS arbitration was referred to a panel of arbitrators composed of: Prof. Luigi Fumagalli,President (Italy), Mr Didier Poulmaire (France) and Mr Michele Bernasconi (Switzerland). Ahearing was held at the CAS headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland on 16 June 2015.

In its decision, the Panel noted that the player was not a party to the FIFA proceedings, which werelaunched by the FFF at the request of the LFP, and that FIFA had not taken a decision relating tothe specific circumstances of his situation, but only on whether some matches were to be consideredas official matches in the sense of the FIFA RSTP. Furthermore, the Panel found that the player’sinvoked interest, namely his right to play football, was merely linked to the LFP decision and notto the FIFA decision. In addition, the player did not prove how the annulment of the FIFA Decisionwould impact him financially or sportingly. In conclusion, the Panel found that Hatem Ben Arfadid not have standing to challenge the FIFA Decision and dismissed his appeal.

For more information, contact:

Mr Matthieu Reeb

CAS Secretary General

Ms Katy Hogg, Communications Officer.

media@tas-cas.org

Tel: (41 21) 613 50 00; fax: (41 21) 613 50 01

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