Lausanne, 30 July 2020 – The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has dismissed the appeal filed by
the Turkish football club Trabzonspor A.S. (Trabzonspor) against the decision issued by the Union of
European Football Associations (UEFA) Club Financial Control Body (CFCB) Adjudicatory Chamber
on 3 June 2020 (the Challenged Decision). As a consequence, the Challenged Decision is confirmed
and Trabzonspor remains “excluded from participating in one (1) UEFA club competition for which it
would otherwise qualify in the 2020/21 and 2021/22 seasons”.
On 5 July 2019, the UEFA CFCB Adjudicatory Chamber determined that Trabzonspor had failed to
be break-even compliant as required by a settlement agreement it had entered into on 20 May 2016
and sanctioned the club with a conditional exclusion from participating in one (1) UEFA club
competition for which it would otherwise qualify in the 2020/21 and 2021/22 seasons. The sanction
would not take effect if the club fulfilled certain conditions, including meeting a target with respect to
its financial results for the 2019 financial year. In the Challenged Decision, the CFCB Adjudicatory
Chamber determined that Trabzonspor failed to meet the target fixed for the 2019 financial year and
imposed the sanction.
On 13 June 2020, Trabzonspor filed an appeal at CAS seeking to overturn such decision. The CAS
arbitration was conducted on an expedited basis and the parties were heard by video conference on
July 2020.
Having considered the parties’ written submissions and evidence, the Sole Arbitrator in charge of this
matter found that Trabzonspor did not meet the required break-even result for the 2019 financial year
and dismissed the appeal
Source: CAS
