The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) issued a ruling on January 6, 1999, in a dispute between the Spanish Basketball Federation (F.E.B) and the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) concerning the eligibility of basketball player Natalia Zassoulskaia to represent the Russian National Team during the 1998 FIBA World Championships. The case centered on the interpretation of FIBA regulations regarding the distinction between legal nationality and basketball nationality. FIBA rules state that while a player may hold multiple legal nationalities under the laws of different countries, they can only have one basketball nationality at any time, which must correspond to their legal nationality.
The controversy arose when FIBA allowed Zassoulskaia to play for Russia despite her previous representation of Spain and her Spanish legal nationality. The Spanish Federation argued that Zassoulskaia had lost her Russian legal nationality due to her naturalization in Spain, which required her to renounce her former Lithuanian nationality. They also contended that Russian law prohibited dual nationality, making it impossible for her to hold both Russian and Spanish citizenship. However, the CAS panel found that Russian law did not explicitly ban dual nationality and that relinquishing Russian citizenship required a formal process, which Zassoulskaia had not completed.
The panel emphasized that sports governing bodies like FIBA operate under private contractual agreements and have the authority to resolve eligibility disputes. While the Spanish Federation did not challenge FIBA's procedural fairness or the legality of its rules, it disputed their application in Zassoulskaia’s case. The CAS panel concluded that FIBA had correctly applied its regulations, as Zassoulskaia retained her Russian legal nationality and could therefore acquire Russian basketball nationality. The decision underscored the importance of adhering to FIBA’s specific provisions and the deference owed to sports bodies in interpreting their own rules.
The document further details FIBA’s regulations, which require players to provide proof of legal nationality to establish basketball nationality. A player can only represent a country in a National Team if they hold both the legal and basketball nationalities of that country, unless they previously played for that country in a main FIBA competition and still retain the legal nationality. In Zassoulskaia’s case, she held Spanish legal and basketball nationalities from 1994 to 1998, but her Russian basketball nationality was contested in October 1998. FIBA determined that her USSR passport and internal Russian passport, which indicated her Russian nationality under Russian law, were sufficient proof of her legal nationality in May 1998. This allowed her to compete for Russia in the 1998 World Championships, as she had previously represented the USSR/Russia in official competitions. FIBA later issued her a new Certificate of Basketball Nationality as Russian in October 1998.
The CAS affirmed its jurisdiction over the dispute and rejected the Spanish Federation’s appeal, upholding FIBA’s decisions regarding Zassoulskaia’s eligibility. The ruling highlighted the significance of legal documentation and FIBA’s authority in determining basketball nationality and player eligibility. The case serves as a precedent for how sports governing bodies interpret and apply their regulations in matters of nationality and representation.