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Sport’s highest court said Friday it will hold fast-track appeals next month as Mexican soccer club León tries to overturn a Fifa decision to expel it from the Club World Cup in the United States.
The court of arbitration for sport (Cas) said León and its sibling club Pachuca have separately filed appeals against a Fifa ruling last month that barred León from the Club World Cup because the clubs have the same owner.
“Club León filed an additional appeal against the decision by the Fifa secretary general to be reinstated in the competition,” the court said in a statement, adding that the expedited appeals will be heard during the week of 5 May.
No target was given for a verdict in the case that will decide the final place in the 32-team lineup for the month-long tournament. The Mexican clubs qualified by winning the continental club championship for the Concacaf region in different years.
Fifa revealed plans this week for a one-game qualification playoff between Los Angeles FC and the Mexican team América if its ruling is upheld at Cas.
In a separate Cas process, the Costa Rican club Alajuelense is arguing its case to get the final entry, which will be worth a minimum $9.55m payment plus an additional share of the $1bn tournament prize fund based on results. The tournament starts on 14 June.
Alajuelense’s case is being heard 23 April in Madrid, though its importance is secondary to the León appeal.
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León was included by Fifa in the tournament draw in December despite the pending multi-club ownership issue. It was drawn in a group with Chelsea, Esperance from Tunisia and Flamengo of Brazil. Whichever club wins the spot, they will open the tournament with a game against Chelsea in Atlanta.
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