Vukovic appeal dismissed by Court of Arbitration for Sport
Initially, world football governing body FIFA dismissed the Mariners? appeal in response to their ruling that made Vukovic ineligible for selection in all international matches up to 5 October, 2008.
Consequently, the Mariners and Vukovic pursued the last possible avenue of appeal by submitting an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
However, late last week, the decision of the Chairman of the FIFA Appeal Committee was confirmed by the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
The full reasoned award of the Court of Arbitration for Sport?s decision has yet to be issued, but is expected to be issued to all parties concerned before 11 July 2008.
As Vukovic?s ban from FIFA only applies to international fixtures, Vukovic is now eligible to play for the Mariners in domestic competition until 29 August, 2008, at which point he will commence what is effectively a five-match Hyundai A-League suspension until 5 October, 2008.
“It is with significant disappointment that we close this chapter of our club?s history and accept that Danny is ineligible to compete at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing,” said Mariners Executive Chairman Lyall Gorman.
“Our club, in consultation with Danny and our legal team and in line with its major focus on player welfare has exhausted every possible avenue of appeal in order to give Danny the best possible chance of fulfilling his Olympic Games ambition and unfortunately this has not resulted in the desired outcome.
“As we have maintained from day one, we do not condone in any fashion any player making contact with a match official and while we feel that the sanction for this unfortunate incident far exceeds the crime, it is now time to accept the umpire?s decision and that of FIFA and the Court or Arbitration for Sport and move on.
“There is no doubt that domestically this matter has highlighted some significant areas of improvement in relation to the rules and regulations that address such incidents and it is hoped that future players and the competition as a whole will benefit from this unfortunate saga and the anticipated review of those rules and regulations.
“Now, we as a club and Danny as an individual must move on as we look past the 2008 Olympic Games and to the Hyundai A-League 2008/09 season and beyond.”
