See you in Switzerland: Fury to take sanctioning case to Court of Arbitration for Sport

The Ottawa Fury is taking its case against CONCACAF to the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Switzerland. The question is, how quickly can the case be heard?

The club announced Wednesday that is appealing for relief from the CAS. The team was informed last week that CONCACAF would not greenlight the Fury’s application to remain in the USL.  CONCACAF claimed that, with the formation of the new Canadian Premier League, there were no longer exceptional circumstances that would allow the organization to sanction a Canada-based club in a U.S. based league.

The USL is regarded as Division-2 in North America. The Canadian Premier League is recognized as Division-1 by Canada Soccer, even though club budgets are only a fraction of what the lowest spending MLS team would lay out.

In July, the Fury made the decision to not join the new Canadian Premier League, even though the club had been at the negotiating table. The club later stated it was supportive of the CanPL as a whole, but wanted to remain in the USL, where it would be the lone Canadian team in that league’s top tier for 2019.

But, with the USL competition format  (and home-opener schedule) already announced, the Fury is up against it. So, it is asking the CAS to hear its case as quickly as possible.

“We are on the clock,” said Mark Goudie, President and CEO of the Ottawa Sports and Entertainment Group (OSEG) in a release. “In the current situation, only four weeks before the scheduled start of training camp, Fury FC is unable to sign players or sell tickets because of the uncertainty surrounding the team’s future. We need a rapid resolution to the dispute and that’s what the CAS was established to provide.”

According to the CAS schedule, it is hearing a case on Dec. 20 — Amadou Diakite vs. the Confederation Africaine de Football —the doesn’t have anything on the docket until January 9. Of course, the Christmas break complicates things.

The CAS is the one vehicle FIFA recognizes to resolve disputes within the international soccer sphere. Organizations that go to CAS don’t run the risk of placing their federations in jeopardy of breaking FIFA’s government-interference rules.

Canada Soccer approved the Fury’s application to play in USL for 2019. The club says it has U.S. Soccer’s approval to cross the border and play in an American league, but Canada Soccer says it has yet to receive confirmation of that from the USSF.

As a legal challenge has now been made, the Fury said it will offer no more comments on the situation until the case is heard.

CAS hearings are not open to the public.