By David Gold
October 3 – FC Sion has dropped an appeal with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) that they had lodged against the Swiss Football League after the six players who they bought whilst under a FIFA transfer ban were made eligible to play in league matches.
The club has been at the centre of a storm in European football circles after they signed the six in contravention of a ban placed on them by FIFA after they signed Egyptian goalkeeper Essam El-Hadary (pictured) illegally in 2008.
Sion believe that the transfer ban had been served and so they bought and subsequently fielded the players anyway.
After playing five of those players against Celtic in a Europa League qualifying tie, UEFA threw the Swiss team out of the competition, replacing them with the Scottish outfit.
They have already had one appeal rejected against the decision and have threatened to take their case to CAS, as they claim that UEFA must comply by Swiss law, after a civil court in the country ruled in their favour.
The case has riled UEFA, whose President Michel Platini will now have to appear before a criminal prosecutor in the country this month to explain their decision, prompting the Frenchman to demand greater protection from the European Union in such cases.
In Switzerland meanwhile, the team were unable to register the players with the Swiss League, and as a result decided to take their case to CAS.
For now though the body will have temporary respite from the various legal issues arising from their case after saying in a statement that “the club…no longer needs a decision from CAS given that the Swiss Football League decided on 30 September 2011 to qualify the six players concerned.”
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