Conceiçao affair: fresh twist leaves Fécafoot on the ropes

Another courtroom defeat for Samuel Eto’o and the Cameroonian Football Federation (Fécafoot). The Swiss Federal Tribunal has just upheld the ruling of the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in the case between Cameroon and Antonio Conceiçao. As a result, Fécafoot has been ordered, with no further right of appeal, to pay more than 1,600,000 euros (more than a billion CFA francs) to Antonio Conceiçao, the former Cameroon national team coach, for "wrongful dismissal" in February 2022.

Fécafoot had in fact tried to have the ruling overturned by lodging an appeal with the Swiss Federal Tribunal. Unfortunately for the federation, the attempt failed. "The appeal is dismissed", the Swiss court ruled. In addition, court costs, set at 16,500 Swiss francs (17,095 euros), must be borne by Fécafoot. The federation will also pay Antonio Conceiçao 18,500 Swiss francs (12,574,344 CFA francs, or 19,167 euros) in legal costs.

The background to the Antonio Conceiçao case

In this complex case, Fécafoot had raised several arguments to challenge the CAS ruling of 8 May 2023. First, Fécafoot had argued that Antonio Conceiçao's dismissal was justified because he had failed to meet a contractual obligation to win the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations or at least reach the final. The CAS had rejected that argument, stating that the respondent was not bound by an obligation to achieve such a result, and that he had met his contractual obligations by finishing third in the competition.

The Swiss Federal Tribunal examined Fécafoot's arguments closely but ultimately dismissed its appeal. The court stressed that Fécafoot was in reality seeking to challenge the CAS's interpretation of the employment contract, which was not admissible in this procedure. The Tribunal also found that the CAS had not breached the principle of contractual loyalty, as it had interpreted the contract in a way that was consistent with the outcome of its interpretation.

The question of the financial obligations arising from the employment contract was also discussed, with Fécafoot claiming that these obligations fell exclusively on Cameroon's sports minister. However, the CAS had concluded that the contractual relationship bound the respondent to Fécafoot, and not to the state authorities. Finally, Fécafoot had complained that the CAS had failed to respect its right to be heard and had reached an unforeseeable decision.

CAS beyond reproach (?)

The Swiss Federal Tribunal rejected these arguments, stressing that the CAS had breached no principle in arbitrating this case. "On reading the argument put forward by the party concerned [Fécafoot, Editor's note], it is plain to see that, under the guise of an alleged breach of its right to be heard, it is attempting to attack the outcome of the arbitrators' interpretation of the employment contract between the parties. It goes without saying that such an approach is doomed to fail in international arbitration", the Swiss Federal Tribunal said.

The Editorial Team