Abstract
Abusive or insulting statements made on social media by a player who is not participating in a match, but who is watching in the stadium, fall, in principle, within the scope of the sanctioned “misconduct… [at] competition matches” under Article 15 UEFA Disciplinary Regulations (“DR”), which is lex specialis vis-à-vis Article 11 DR. However, only statements that are directed at a match official breach Article 15 DR. Statements that are made in relation to a controversial scene of the match and stay within certain limits do not breach Article 15 DR. Accordingly, statements such as “it’s a disgrace” and “four guys who do not know anything about football”, describing the Video Assistant Referees in relation to a controversial penalty scene, do not amount to a breach. Since the terms “abuse” (Article 15(1)(b) DR) and “insulting” (Article 15(1)(d) DR) overlap and no guidance on how to distinguish them appears to be provided in the UEFA DR, the less severe provision shall apply (“abuse”). The lack of intention to harm anyone with a statement is not a mitigating factor. On the other hand, the lack of remorse and the number of followers on social media are not aggravating factors either.
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Notes
- 1.
CAS 2019/A/6367, Paris Saint-Germain & Neymar Da Silva Santos Junior v. Union des Associations Européennes de Football (UEFA), Award of 17 February 2020 (operative part of 17 September 2019), paras 6 and 7.
- 2.
Ibid., para 9.
- 3.
Ibid., para 10.
- 4.
Ibid., para 14.
- 5.
Ibid., paras 15 and 16.
- 6.
Ibid., para 19.
- 7.
Ibid.
- 8.
Ibid.
- 9.
Ibid.
- 10.
Ibid., paras 20–22.
- 11.
Ibid., paras 24 and 25.
- 12.
Ibid., para 26.
- 13.
Ibid., paras 26–34 and 38.
- 14.
Ibid., para 46(d).
- 15.
Ibid., para 46(e).
- 16.
Ibid., para 46(g); Lovren: UEFA CEDB, Case N°32154—UNL—2018/19, Croatian Football Federation, decision of 10 January 2019; Simeone: UEFA CEDB, Case N° 32360—UCL—2018/19, Club Atlético de Madrid, decision of 7 March 2019; the cases of Mr. Carvalho and Mr. Ronaldo are not published.
- 17.
Ibid., para 46(h).
- 18.
Ibid., para 46(i).
- 19.
Ibid., para 45.
- 20.
Ibid., para 48(d).
- 21.
Ibid., para 48(e).
- 22.
Ibid., para 48(f).
- 23.
Ibid., para 48(c).
- 24.
UEFA CEBD, Paris St. Germain/Player Serge Aurier, Decision of 19 March 2015.
- 25.
Ibid., para 48(g).
- 26.
Ibid., para 48(i).
- 27.
Ibid., para 48(j).
- 28.
Ibid., para 47.
- 29.
Ibid., paras 55 and 56.
- 30.
Ibid., para 59.
- 31.
Ibid., para 60.
- 32.
Ibid., para 63.
- 33.
Ibid., para 64.
- 34.
Ibid., para 65.
- 35.
Ibid., para 66.
- 36.
Ibid., para 68.
- 37.
Ibid., para 70.
- 38.
Ibid., para 71.
- 39.
Ibid., para 72 with reference to TAS 2004/A/553, Djibril Cissé & Fédération Française de Football (FFF) c. Union des Associations Européennes de Football (UEFA), Award of 11 June 2004.
- 40.
Ibid., para 72.
- 41.
Ibid., para 73.
- 42.
Ibid., para 74.
- 43.
Ibid., para 73.
- 44.
Ibid., para 75.
- 45.
Ibid., para 64: “[T]he term covers all incidents in the stadium […]”; para 65: “[T]he Player posted the Statements onto his Instagram story while he was still in the stadium […]” and “[I]n this context it is irrelevant that the Player was not fielded to play in the Match due to an injury. He attended the Match in the stadium, was in the official stands of the Club and in that function was bound to observe the duties of loyalty of a player within the meaning of Article 15 DR […]”.
- 46.
UEFA CEBD, Paris St. Germain/Player Serge Aurier, Decision of 19 March 2015.
- 47.
- 48.
CAS 2019/A/6367, Paris Saint-Germain & Neymar Da Silva Santos Junior v. Union des Associations Européennes de Football (UEFA), Award of 17 February 2020 (operative part of 17 September 2019), para 63.
- 49.
Ibid., para 65.
- 50.
Ibid., para 75.
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Etter, C. (2021). CAS 2019/A/6367, Paris Saint-Germain and Neymar Da Silva Santos Junior v. Union des Associations Européennes de Football (UEFA), Award of 17 February 2020 (Operative Part of Award of 17 September 2019). In: Duval, A., Rigozzi, A. (eds) Yearbook of International Sports Arbitration 2018–2020. Yearbook of International Sports Arbitration. T.M.C. Asser Press, The Hague. https://doi.org/10.1007/15757_2021_32
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