The case involves a dispute arising from disciplinary sanctions imposed after incidents during a football match in Albania. On November 10, 2006, a match between Football Club Burrel (FCB) and Erzeni took place in Burrel, Albania. Following the match, the Disciplinary Commission of the Albanian Football Federation (FAF) sanctioned FCB on November 15, 2006, excluding it from national competitions for one year and relegating it to a lower division the following season. FCB appealed this decision to the FAF Appeals Commission, which upheld the sanction on November 25, 2006. FCB then appealed to the Sports Arbitration Council of the Albanian Olympic Committee (KAS), which modified the sanction on December 7, 2006, maintaining only the suspension of FCB's right to play on their home ground for the 2006-2007 season.
The FAF subsequently filed an appeal with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) on December 28, 2006, challenging the KAS decision. However, the appeal was directed against the Albanian Olympic Committee rather than FCB. The CAS examined the legal basis for the appeal, noting that under Article 57 of the FAF Statutes, appeals against FAF decisions must be directed to KAS, with further appeal rights to CAS. The CAS emphasized that the KAS functions as an appellate body, not a party to the dispute, and that the FAF's appeal should have been filed against FCB, the directly affected party.
The CAS found that the FAF lacked standing to appeal against the Albanian Olympic Committee, as no legal provision permitted such an action. When questioned, the FAF failed to provide a valid legal basis for its appeal, citing irrelevant FIFA statutes and CAS procedural rules. The CAS concluded that the FAF's appeal was inadmissible due to improper designation of the respondent. Consequently, the CAS rejected the appeal on June 15, 2007, upholding the principle that legal actions must be directed against the correct party as defined by applicable statutes. The decision reaffirmed that procedural errors, such as incorrect respondent designation, lead to dismissal of the case.