The case involves Celtic Football Club and its manager, Martin O’Neill, appealing a disciplinary decision by UEFA’s Control and Disciplinary Body. The incident occurred after a UEFA Champions League match between Celtic FC and Juventus FC on September 18, 2001, where O’Neill was ordered to leave the technical area. UEFA subsequently suspended O’Neill for one match, prohibiting him from being in the dressing rooms, technical area, or communicating with his team during the match against FC Porto on September 25, 2001. Celtic FC and O’Neill filed an appeal with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) on September 24, 2001, seeking to overturn the decision or modify its terms, along with a request for a stay of execution pending the appeal. UEFA opposed the appeal, arguing that CAS lacked jurisdiction because the decision was of a sporting, not pecuniary, nature.
The CAS President examined the jurisdictional issue under the UEFA Statutes and the CAS Code of Sports-related Arbitration. Article 60 of the UEFA Statutes grants CAS exclusive jurisdiction over decisions of a pecuniary nature but excludes those of a sporting nature. The appellants argued that the suspension would cause them loss and damage but provided no specific evidence of financial harm. UEFA contended that the suspension was purely sporting and thus outside CAS jurisdiction. The CAS referenced previous cases, such as Real Madrid CF v. UEFA, where it distinguished between pecuniary sanctions (like fines) and sporting sanctions (like stadium suspensions), ruling it had no jurisdiction over the latter.
In this case, the CAS President found that O’Neill’s suspension was fundamentally a sporting decision, with no clear pecuniary consequences demonstrated by the appellants. As a result, the CAS concluded it lacked jurisdiction to hear the appeal and denied the request for a stay of execution. The order was issued without costs, leaving open the possibility for further review by a full CAS panel if necessary. The decision underscores the distinction between sporting and financial disputes in arbitration under UEFA regulations.