CAS overturns AC Milan Euro ban

The Court of Arbitration for Sports, CAS, has overturned the european ban handed to AC Milan by European football governing, UEFA, as punishment for breaching the financial fair play rules.

According to a document released by the judiciary body, created to settle sports-related disputes, on its website, the Switzerland-based court stated three key points in its ruling which decided in AC Milan’s favour, thereby overturning UEFA’s decision.

Last month, Italian club, AC Milan were handed a two-season ban from European competitions by the disciplinary committee of UEFA, UEFA CFCB, for failing to break even financially, and CAS “maintained the decision of the Adjudicatory Chamber of the rendered on 19 June 2018 establishing that AC Milan has failed to fulfil the break-even requirement is confirmed.”

However, the court “annulled” the committee’s two-season ban slapped on the fallen Italian giant who are former Champions League winners, and reverted the case back to the committee “to issue a proportionate disciplinary measure.”

AC Milan was bought by Chinese owners last year and splashed the cash- which they did not have and could not generate to balance their finances- in a desperate bid to return to Europe’s top club competition, UEFA Champions League. They however failed in their mission and are in financial quagmire, and UEFA responded by slapping the ban on them, but the club appealed the decision through CAS and they found some reprieve.

The CAS panel, however, “rejected AC Milan’s request to order UEFA to enter into a settlement agreement but acknowledged that the decision of the Adjudicatory Chamber of the UEFA CFCB to exclude AC Milan from the UEFA Club Competition was not proportionate.”

In conclusion, the CAS panel stated that the “Adjudicatory Chamber is in a better position than the CAS Panel to issue a new proportionate disciplinary measure on the basis of the current financial situation of the Club.”

AC Milan finished sixth on the log in last season’s Serie A table, qualifying for the group stage of the Europa League in the process, and with the CAS panel’s ruling, willbe eligible in this season’s competition.