Lausanne, 25 January 2021 - The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has announced its decisions in
the appeal arbitration procedures between Mariyam Mohamed from the Republic of Maldives, a
candidate who sought election to the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Executive Committee
during the 29th AFC Congress held on 6 April 2019 in Kuala Lumpur, and the AFC.
Mariyam Mohamed filed two appeals, inter alia, to have the results of the elections conducted during
the 29th AFC Congress (the 2019 Elections) set aside on two separate bases: gender discrimination and
third-party interference, and to have those elections re-run.
The first proceedings concerned the decision taken by the AFC Electoral Committee to reject and/or
refuse to investigate a discrimination complaint lodged by Mariyam Mohamed in relation to the 2019
Elections. The CAS Panel ruled such decision invalid and declared that the 2019 Elections were
conducted on the basis of procedures and practices that amounted to a breach of the prohibition against
gender discrimination enshrined in the FIFA and AFC Statutes, and further declared that the AFC
failed to fulfil its obligation to promote the full participation of women in the 2019 AFC elections.
The CAS Panel did not uphold Mariyam Mohamed’s requests for an order annulling the results of the
2019 Elections, for an order that the 2019 Elections be re-held, or for an order requiring the AFC to
amend the AFC statutes so as to comply with its obligations to not discriminate against women and
promote their involvement in the governance of sport, considering that the decision complained of by
Mariyam Mohamed, being that of the Electoral Commission does not form the basis of an order to
annul and re-hold the elections, or of an order to amend the Statutes, as that body does not have that
competence.
In the second proceedings, the CAS Panel ruled that the AFC Disciplinary and Ethics Committee’s
failure to complete the preliminary investigation initiated following Mariyam Mohamed’s third-party
interference complaint within a reasonable time frame resulted in a denial of justice and declared that
the 2019 Elections were subject to improper influence by a third party in a manner contrary to the
applicable AFC and FIFA regulations. The CAS Panel, with the same reasoning as for the first
proceedings, did not uphold Mariyam Mohamed’s requests for an order annulling the results of the
2019 AFC elections or for an order that the 2019 Elections be re-held.
The Panel noted that the attempts to influence the 2019 Elections through inducements were not
effective, in that Mariyam Mohamed did not withdraw her candidature. In that respect, while the Panel
found the third-party interference established, it underlined that it did not, in the end, have an effect on
the elections.
The CAS arbitration procedures were conducted by the same Panel of arbitrators: Mr John F. Boultbee
AM (Australia), President, the Hon. Michael J. Beloff MA QC (United Kingdom) and Prof. Luigi
Fumagalli (Italy) Co-Arbitrators.
Your best source of news about the Olympics is www.aroundtherings.com, for subscribers only
Últimas Noticias
Utah’s Olympic venues an integral part of the equation as Salt Lake City seeks a Winter Games encore
Utah Olympic Legacy Foundation chief of sport development Luke Bodensteiner says there is a “real urgency to make this happen in 2030”. He discusses the mission of the non-profit organization, the legacy from the 2002 Winter Games and future ambitions.
IOC president tells Olympic Movement “we will again have safe and secure Olympic Games” in Beijing
Thomas Bach, in an open letter on Friday, also thanked stakeholders for their “unprecedented” efforts to make Tokyo 2020 a success despite the pandemic.
Boxing’s place in the Olympics remains in peril as IOC still unhappy with the state of AIBA’s reform efforts
The IOC says issues concerning governance, finance, and refereeing and judging must be sorted out to its satisfaction. AIBA says it’s confident that will happen and the federation will be reinstated.
IOC president details Olympic community efforts to get Afghans out of danger after Taliban return to power
Thomas Bach says the Afghanistan NOC remains under IOC recognition, noting that the current leadership was democratically elected in 2019. But he says the IOC will be monitoring what happens in the future. The story had been revealed on August 31 in an article by Miguel Hernandez in Around the Rings
North Korea suspended by IOC for failing to participate in Tokyo though its athletes could still take part in Beijing 2022
Playbooks for Beijing 2022 will ”most likely” be released in October, according to IOC President Thomas Bach.
